AUBURN, Ala. — No. 2 Auburn (7-1) returns to action Sunday against Richmond (4-4). The Tigers are looking to bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season earlier in the week against Duke. Sunday’s game will also be the Tigers' first home game since November 18th.
“I wonder how many Power Five conference schools have not had a home game in 20 days,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said.
Richmond holds a .500 record through eight games, but the Spiders were the A10 champion just a season ago. Richmond is led by guard DeLonnie Hunt. Hunt averages 20 points per game and is a handful for opposing defenses. Auburn, meanwhile, seeks to get back on track on the defensive end after struggling to stop Duke on Wednesday night.
“They have a great, great, guard that was one of the leading scorers in the country,” Pearl said of Hunt. “He’s real quick, real fast. He’s hard to stay in front of.”
Along with Hunt, the Spiders run a five-out offense that could give Auburn trouble. The offense is a staple in the pros and continues to grow in the college ranks.
“He (Richmond head coach Chris Mooney) didn’t event the five out, but he probably runs it as well as anybody,” Pearl said.
As for what adjustments Auburn needs to make after the defensive struggles against Duke, Pearl pointed towards bad offense leading to easy points in transition for Duke.
“Most of the transition was five on four because of how we didn’t execute offensively,” Pearl said. “Our guards did not do a good job stopping the ball and fanning out the shooters.”
Auburn’s offense on the other hand still ranks best in the country according to KenPom, however, room for improvement remains. Auburn has arguably the best player in the country in Johni Broome and multiple returning players, but many players are still adjusting to new roles.
“Everyone talks about how much Duke is going to improve because they’re so young,” Pearl said. “I keep telling my team this, I’d like them to say the same thing about us.”
One position Auburn hopes to continue to see improvement at is the point guard position. Despite a poor game against Duke, Denver Jones has adjusted well to starting at point guard for the Tigers. Transfer guard JP Pegues has struggled, however, leading to more minutes for 5-star freshman Tahaad Pettiford.
“Tahaad will continue to play more and more point guard,” Pearl said.
The Tigers have a chance to improve on Sunday and get back in the win column with a strong performance against Richmond. The game will tip at 11:00 AM inside Neville Arena. The game will air on the Auburn Sports Network and the SEC Network.
