Auburn basketball’s season officially starts next week, but first the Tigers get to play in an exhibition game against Auburn University at Montgomery Wednesday night. Fans will get to see the Tigers new roster as a few players from last year's team have left, however a few new players were added for this upcoming season.
The Tigers are led this season by returning starting center Johni Broome, who was picked as part of the preseason All-SEC second team after averaging 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds last season.
He is joined in the front court by returning seniors Chris Moore and Dylan Cardwell.
In the backcourt, K.D. Johnson, who averaged 8.9 points on 38.1% shooting, and Tre Donaldson, who averaged 2.5 points on 38.4% shooting, return. Five-star freshman Aden Holloway will be added to the backcourt depth as well and is expected to make an immediate impact.
Holloway will have to bring his talent to the backcourt after the loss of Wendell Green Jr. to the NBA draft. Holloway averaged 21.9 points in high school and was a McDonald’s All-American and is battling with Donaldson for the starting spot at point guard.
The Tigers shot 44.1% as a team last season as well as 31.4% from three-point range.
In KenPom's predicted metrics, the Tigers are ranked 15th thanks to being 16th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 15th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
In this exhibition game, look for the Tigers to play multiple players and try to figure out what their rotation will be when the season officially starts.
“The balance of minutes will be the greatest of any team I’ve coached, and I've played 10 guys double-digit minutes my entire career,” said head coach Bruce Pearl in his press conference on Monday.
Expect the Tigers to feed the post early and try to get Broome going offensively. That will open up other opportunities for him to kick out the ball, if he is doubled, to guards where they can shoot it from deep or drive to the hoop.
Defense will be key in the first few minutes as Auburn will not want AUM to hang around for long and keep the score tight heading into the second half.
The Tigers will also look for incoming transfers Denver Jones and Chaney Johnson to make an impact as well to provide that depth that the team is looking for.
As for AUM, the Warhawks return three of their five returning starters from 2022-23 – all of which averaged double-digit points. Leading scorer Travis Anderson is back after averaging 14.1 points per game and shooting 39.3% from the three-point line. Jalen Gaston and Joseph Lanzi also return after both shooting 36% or better on 3-pointers.
Auburn plays Auburn University at Montgomery in a non-televised game that will tip off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST inside Neville Arena.
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William Halliday started with The Plainsman in fall 2022. He is a journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee.
Twitter: @wphalliday3
