AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn Tigers will look to continue their strong start to conference play on Saturday, welcoming the LSU Tigers into Neville Arena for their third SEC contest of the year. Both teams are coming off strong 2-0 starts to the conference campaign and will look to remain unbeaten.
Auburn’s two wins in SEC play came in very different fashions. The Tigers had the hot hand at Arkansas, scoring 83 points on their way to the win. They wouldn’t shoot nearly as well against Texas A&M, but would hit clutch free throws down the stretch to secure their second victory against SEC opponents.
The Tigers of LSU have experienced similar success, taking care of business against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt behind stellar guard play. In both contests, the Tigers had a guard go for at least 20 points.
LSU has seen the majority of their point scoring production come from the previously mentioned guards, Senior Tulane transfer Jalen Cook and Graduate Student Jordan Wright. Cook and Wright average 16.8 and 15.0 points, respectively, and are crucial to success for second year head coach Matt McMahon.
Cook, who only became eligible five games ago due to a midseason rule change regarding two time transfer eligibility, certainly poses an interesting challenge for Auburn and head coach Bruce Pearl.
“The eligibility of Jalen Cook completely changes their roster,” said Pearl. “We’re going to be playing against a number of players in our league that we chose not to recruit because we assumed the rules would be adhered to and not changed midseason.”
The guard matchup will certainly be one to watch, as Pearl has challenged his guards to be strong defensively all season long. They will have their hands full with the speed and scoring ability of LSU.
On the Auburn side, Graduate Student Jaylin Williams is riding some of the best momentum of his career, coming off of a huge 22 point night against the Aggies. Another big night inside for Williams and his frontcourt counterpart Johni Broome is key for the Tigers.
Another obvious factor in the matchup will be Auburn’s dominant home court advantage. The Tigers have not lost inside Neville Arena since February 11th of last year.
“The environment is all that you want college basketball to be,” said Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams. “As far as you can see, people are standing. They’re here as soon as we get here.”
LSU has already gone on the road in SEC play and convincingly defeated Texas A&M. The Tigers will aim for a similar performance and a hot start to keep the crowd out of the game early.
The matchup of the conference unbeatens will take place Saturday evening with a 5:00 p.m. CT scheduled tip time. The game can be seen on the SEC Network, with coverage also coming from the Auburn Sports Network.
