In a season of many firsts, Auburn will carry the nation’s longest win streak to Auburn Arena for the first time this year as the Tigers suit up for the yearly Big 12/SEC challenge against Oklahoma.
Auburn secured the No. 1 spot in the AP poll for the first time ever after edging out the then 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at home on Saturday. A midweek trap game almost saw the Tigers lose that historical ranking but Auburn got out of Missouri with a one-point victory over the scrappy Tigers.
Now, a Saturday slate of SEC and Big 12 matchups hits the stage, headlined by No. 1 Auburn hosting Oklahoma.
Last season, Auburn traveled to Baylor to face the eventual national champion in what ended as a 12-point loss to the Bears. Winning the previous year versus Iowa State, Auburn will look to lead the SEC to back-to-back wins and just the third win in nine years over the Big 12 in the annual challenge, with the Tigers playing one of the first matchups of the basketball-packed Saturday.
Sooner Watch: The Sooners followed up a double-digit loss versus Baylor with a 10-point win over West Virginia on the road Wednesday. Tanner Groves led all scorers with 21 points and six rebounds, shooting 81% from the floor against the Mountaineers. The Eastern Michigan transfer has scored in double figures the past two games in a row as senior Umoja Gibson averages 12.4 points per game alongside him.
Prowling Tigers: Auburn’s rim rocker, Walker Kessler, is inching his way toward double digit double-doubles with half the SEC schedule still remaining. A double-double on Saturday would be his eighth in just 21 games.
Jabari Smith is due for a bounce back game after he saw his first lackluster game of the season against Missouri. The NBA prospect shot just 2-for-15 from the floor but still managed to snag 10 rebounds in route to the Tigers close win.
Jaylin Williams has been under the radar by many but has proven his worth on a talented team in the last few games, scoring 13 points and five rebounds against UGA and seven points against the Wildcats in what might’ve been one of the biggest games of the season (2nd most watched NCAA game this year).
Auburn and the Sooners duke it out at 1 p.m. CST in the Auburn Arena. The game will be live broadcast ESPN.
The full slate of Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 challenge:
LSU vs. TCU, 11 a.m.
Missouri at Iowa State, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma at Auburn, 1 p.m.
West Virginia at Arkansas, 1 p.m.
Baylor at Alabama, 3 p.m.
Kansas State at Ole Miss, 3 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Florida, 3 p.m.
Kentucky at Kansas, 5 p.m.
Mississippi State at Texas Tech, 5 p.m.
Tennessee at Texas, 7 p.m.
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Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
