Auburn basketball will look to extend its nine-game win streak as the Tigers travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Vanderbilt, who is seeking its first conference win.
The Tigers have opened conference play red-hot, improving to 14-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference play with a 93-78 victory at home against the LSU Tigers Saturday.
On the flip side, Vanderbilt has started the season 5-11 and 0-3 in conference play, with its most recent loss a 69-56 defeat in against Ole Miss.
Despite recent success, Auburn and Vanderbilt have split the last 10 games at an even 5-5, with the most recent matchup in the 2022-23 season – which resulted in a 67-65 victory for the Commodores in Nashville.
“Knowing that last year we went there and got beat, we obviously have a lot to play for,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “I will try to explain to our guys a little about Auburn Basketball history prior to having won five out of our last six. We had lost 13 straight to Vanderbilt. That's not that long ago.”
Players to Watch
Auburn: Jaylin Williams
The winningest player in Auburn men's basketball history has had his best season, shooting a career-high 60.7% from the field and 11.9 points per game. In Williams’s last five games, he has shot 72.9% from the field on 37 attempts.
Williams put on an impressive performance in the Tigers' loss to the Commodores last season, scoring 17 points while shooting 8-of-12 from the field. Auburn must keep leaning on the team's most experienced player on the road.
Vanderbilt: Ezra Manjon
After scoring the final basket in regulation against the Tigers in the most recent matchup, Manjon quickly became the star player for the Commodores in his second season in Nashville.
“Ezra Manjon will be the fastest, quickest, most athletic, smallest guard that we will play against all year long,” Pearl said. “He is the best undersized guard I think I have ever seen score over size. It doesn’t matter who he gets switched up on, it doesn’t matter what his matchup is, he is going to go downhill, and he is going to find a way to score with either hand at a decent percentage.”
Manjon leads Vanderbilt in points per game at 16.3, taking over a six-point difference from last season and leads the team with 3.4 assists per game. The Commodores will look to rely on their leader to help get their first conference win.
Auburn 14-2 (3-0) and Vanderbilt 5-11 (0-3) will meet for the 143rd game played between the two schools in Nashville, Tennessee. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. CST.
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Craig Noyes is a junior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
Twitter: @craignoyes58
