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A spirit that is not afraid

Tigers looking to build on record-breaking 2021 season

Basketball season is just days away and with it comes a flurry of activity and excitement in Auburn.

The Tigers kicked off practice Sept. 27. The Tigers will play their non-conference games up until three quarters of the way through December, with headline games such as Memphis, USC and Washington set before they start their SEC schedule with a home game against Florida. 

Auburn opened its first week of practice with a set of interviews with head coach Bruce Pearl, guards Zep Jasper and K.D. Johnson, and forward Johni Broome.

“The question is: have the returning players improved enough from year one, two or three, depending on where they are, for us to be able to compete for the SEC Championship again? Will Johni and Yohan (Traore) be able to fill in? Because they’re going to get a lot of the minutes that Walker (Kessler) and Jabari (Smith) got, and what is that going to be like?" Pearl said. "I love my depth, I like the chemistry, I like the work ethic, and obviously we had a great summer as far as Israel is concerned.” 

Alongside Pearl in previewing the season, Johnson was asked if he believes the team can compete for an SEC championship again. 

“Most definitely, we got a lot of players such as Yohan, he’s new to fill in the four spot. Dylan (Cardwell), he ascertains his body around a lot, y’all should see him. J-Will, he's coming along all the way right," Johnson said. "We've got a lot of people that’s got something in store for y’all in the new season.” 

Jasper is already looking ahead to Georgia and Missouri, when he plans to see some familiar faces from home.

"I’ve got some hometown friends that’s on their team now. I’m pretty tight with those guys. It’s their first year in the SEC and they’re pretty hype to play me," Jasper said. "They’ve never been in the Jungle before. I told him we got the best home court advantage in the nation. And you know they’re excited to see me and I’m excited to see them."

The Tigers, who earned their first No. 1 ranking in program history last year and won the regular season SEC Championship, aim to build on a great season and seem to have a compelling team to watch and schedule to look forward to. 

11/2/22 vs UAH (Exhibition)

11/7/22 vs George Mason

11/11/22 vs South Florida

11/15/22 vs Winthrop 

Non-bracketed game in the Cancun Challenge

11/18/22 vs Texas Southern

11/22/22 vs Bradley: 5 p.m. CST

Cancun Challenge

Last season, Auburn's Thanksgiving was highlighted by a three game slate in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Tigers went 2-1, losing to UConn but defeating Loyola Chicago and Syracuse. 

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11/23/22 vs Northwestern or Liberty

Cancun Challenge

Auburn will have its non-bracketed Cancun Challenge game at home against Winthrop and upon arriving in Mexico, will first face Bradley. Following that game and depending on the results of each, the Tigers will face either Northwestern or Liberty. Auburn is 1-0 all-time against the Flames but has never played Northwestern.

11/27/22 vs Saint Louis

12/2/22 vs Colgate

12/10/22 vs Memphis: 4 p.m. CST

Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta

In this same event last year, Auburn took down Nebraska 99-68, but this time match up against Memphis. The Tigers are 2-0 when taking on Memphis, most recently playing them in 2020.

12/14/22 vs Georgia State 

12/18/22 @ USC

12/21/22 @ Washington

12/28/22 vs Florida: 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

The Tigers are 4-6 in their last 10 matchups with Florida. With the departure of Mike White, the Gators have a new head coach in Todd Golden who is coming in from the University of San Francisco. The Gators have two-time All-SEC forward Colin Castleton returning for his fifth year, who averaged 14.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 block last season. 

1/4/23 @ Georgia: 5:30 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

With Tom Crean out at Georgia, Mike White from Florida comes in to replace him and try to get the program winning again. Kario Oquendo was the Bulldogs' leading scorer last year, averaging 15.2 points per game. The Tigers won both games they played against the Bulldogs last year. They’ll look to do the same again this year. 

1/7/23 vs Arkansas: 7:30 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

The Razorbacks lost two of their top players to the NBA from last year’s Elight Eight team in JD Notae and Jaylin Williams. However, they will be coming into this game with the No. 2 overall recruiting class led by top-three player in the 2022 class, Nick Smith. The Tigers lost this game 76-80 last season in a wild overtime finish in front of a packed-out Arkansas crowd.

1/10/23 @ Ole Miss: 8 p.m. CST (ESPN2/ESPNU)

Ole Miss was the second worst scoring offense in the conference last season with 68.1 points per game. Though they lost leading scorer Jarkel Joiner to NC State, they return key players in Daeshun Ruffin, Jaemyn Brakefield, and Matthew Murrell. The Tigers won both their games last year against the Rebels. 

1/14/22 vs Mississippi State: 7:30 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

Chris Jans from New Mexico State comes in to replace Ben Howland as the coach of the Bulldogs this season. What was one of State’s most talented rosters, last year turned out to be a lost season with a first-round exit in the NIT. The Bulldog’s return key players in DJ Jeffries and Shakeel Moore. The Tigers won this game last year in an 81-68 battle.

1/18/23 @ LSU: 6 p.m. CST (ESPN2/ESPNU)

The Tigers won this game last year with their defense. They held LSU to 55 points and forced 17 turnovers. Wendell Green finished with 15 points and Allen Flanigan had 10. LSU lost nine players to the transfer portal after head coach Will Wade was fired prior to the NCAA Tournament due to allegations of NCAA violations. The Bayou Bengals are coming in with a new team and head coach in Matt McMahon from Murray State. 

1/21/23 @ South Carolina: 2:30 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

The Gamecocks lost five of their top six leading scorers from last season and have a new head coach in Lamont Paris, formerly head coach at University of Chattanooga. The Tigers won both of their games against the Gamecocks last season by double digits, with the last game of the series being the win they needed to become SEC regular season champs. K.D. Johnson had 18 points in that game. 

1/25/23 vs Texas A&M: 8 p.m. CST (ESPN2/ESPNU)

The Tigers' most recent matchup with the Aggies was in the SEC Tournament, in what was a first-round 67-62 upset for Auburn. This was a game that saw Auburn struggle early, with only a few players playing well the entire game. The Aggies bring back a good chunk of their team from last season, a group that saw them through an SEC Tournament Championship berth only to lose to Tennessee. 

1/28/23 @ West Virginia: 11 a.m. CST

Big 12/SEC Challenge

Just last year, Auburn defeated Oklahoma 86-68 in its home version of this game but now must hit the road in 2022. The Tigers are 2-1 against the Mountaineers, most recently winning 84-59 back in 1985.

2/1/23 vs Georgia: 6 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

2/4/23 @ Tennessee: 1 p.m. CST (ESPN/ESPN2)

The Vols return this season with a core of seniors led by Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. They were the SEC tTournament Champions last year and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers forced 18 turnovers and held the Vols to 33% shooting from the field in last year’s matchup, but couldn’t overcome their own offensive struggles as they would lose 67-62.  

2/7/23 @ Texas A&M: 6 p.m. CST (ESPN/ESPN2)

2/11/23 vs Alabama: 1 p.m. CST (ESPN/ESPN2)

This rivalry game is something Auburn fans always look forward to. Last year, the Tigers got the better of the Tide in both games, winning by double digits in each. Their defense was to thank in both those games. This year, the Tide brings in a top five recruiting class and returns a key player in Jahvon Quinerly. 

2/14/23 vs Missouri: 6 p.m. CST (ESPN/ESPN2)

Last year’s matchup almost saw Missouri upset the Tigers, as they would only win by one, 55-54. K.D. Johnson made sure they wouldn’t lose that game, as he went on to score 17 points in the game. Five of those were in the last 90 seconds to win the game. This year, Missouri comes in with Dennis Gates as the head coach, replacing Cuonzo Martin, and returning lead scorer Kobe Brown who averaged 12.5 points per game last season. 

2/18/23 @ Vanderbilt: 7:30 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

The Commodores lost their star player and All-SEC selection Scotty Pippen Jr. to the NBA Draft this offseason and are looking to some younger players to pick up the offensive production.  

2/22/23 vs Ole Miss: 8 p.m. CST (SEC Network)

2/25/23 @ Kentucky: 3 p.m. CST (CBS)

Last year’s game against Kentucky drew a lot of hype around Auburn's campus and ended up being a big win. The Tigers scored 51 of their 80 points in the second half to pull out the win. They’ll look to have the same outcome as they will head to Rupp Arena to face the Wildcats, who have a top-10 recruiting class and returning Wooden Award winner and SEC Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe. 

In previewing the season when practice started, Johnson said he is most looking forward to this game because he has never gotten to play in Rupp Arena.

3/1/23 @ Alabama: 6 p.m. CST (ESPN2/ESPNU)

3/4/23 vs Tennessee: 3 p.m. CST (ESPN/ESPN2)

3/8/23-3/12/23 SEC Tournament


William Halliday | Sports Writer

William Halliday started with The Plainsman in fall 2022. He is a journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee.

Twitter: @wphalliday3


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