After stunning Xavier in double overtime in Auburn Arena last season, Auburn will travel to Cincinnati on Saturday to face the Musketeers on their home floor.
Xavier, which went on to advance to its fifth Sweet 16 in the last eight years, is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in RPI, a metric that calculates the strength of a team’s schedule and how they perform against the schedule.
“[Xavier coach] Chris Mack has done as good a job as any coach in America with this program, and it’s because of their consistency,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “They play hard. They’re physical. They run great stuff.”
Auburn is dealing with a rash of injuries after a 78-71 win over Mercer Tuesday night, especially at guard.
TJ Lang injured his ankle only four minutes into the game, and Pearl said he “would anticipate (Lang) might be able to handle a walkthrough.”
Kareem Canty suffered an ankle injury in the second half, while Tahj Shamsid-Deen is on a minutes limit after returning from a dislocated shoulder.
“We didn’t go hard [in practice] yesterday,” Pearl said. “I can tell you we won’t go hard today, and we won’t go hard tomorrow. I just can’t risk an injury, a further injury.”
With multiple guards limited, Bryce Brown has been forced to step up. Brown played a season-high 31 minutes against Mercer, and Pearl expects to continue to see the true freshman’s role expand going forward.
“Bryce has established himself, and he’s put himself in a good position where he’s earned what he’s getting and he’s going to continue to do what he does,” Pearl said. “He’ll continue to make plays and make a difference for us on the floor. There’s no question.”
Auburn is hitting the road for the third time this season after splitting the first two contests. The Tigers defeated Coastal Carolina on Dec. 2 and lost to Middle Tennessee State at Bridgestone Arena last Saturday.
Pearl said Xavier’s Cintas Center will be the toughest environment the Tigers will face this season.
“This is really the beginning of our preparation for the SEC right now,” Pearl said. “This road trip is to prepare ourselves for conference play starting Jan. 2. We’ve got four games to do that against four SEC-caliber opponents. … Let’s see where we’re at.”
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