The men's basketball team takes on Samford University Friday at the Auburn Arena.
The game will be the second men's basketball game played at the Auburn Arena and the second of the season.
In the inaugural game, the Tigers lost to the University of North Carolina at Asheville by one point in overtime to open the season 0-1.
Auburn led the game 37-21 at halftime.
Junior forward Kenny Gabriel said the team stopped rebounding and hustling and showed a lack of physicality and a soft mentality.
The Tigers look to play much better against the Samford Bulldogs than they did against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
When asked what needed to happen going forward, coach Tony Barbee said, "It's about changing the culture, not accepting losing. That's why I'm here.
"We did more to contribute to our demise than they did."
The Samford Bulldogs come into the contest against Auburn with a 1-1 record and fresh off a victory over Tennessee Wesleyan.
Samford is located just outside of Birmingham, and the Bulldogs compete in the Southern Conference.
Samford is led in scoring by junior guard Jeffrey Merritt. At 6-foot-6 and 180 pounds, Merritt is averaging 16 points per game for the Bulldogs.
Second on the team in scoring is senior guard Josh Bedwell, who at 6 feet and 180 pounds is averaging 10 points per game.
Junior guards Matt Dickey and J.P. Primm of UNC Asheville combined to score 35 points and were 7 of 16 from 3-point range.
The backcourt tandem's steady play and consistent shooting allowed UNC to win the game.
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