Auburn men’s basketball (3-0) will return to Neville Arena one more time before its trip to the 2024 Maui Invitational on Monday night to face the North Alabama Lions (3-1).
This marks only the fifth meeting all-time between these two teams, the most recent being a 77-40 Auburn win in 2021. The Tigers were leading by just five at halftime, but were able to pull away in the second half and claim the victory. The other three matchups were in 1959, 1960, and 1961.
Auburn is seeking to remain undefeated after an impressive first three games on the season – dominating Vermont 94-43, defeating Kent State 79-56, and most notably knocking off No. 4 Houston 74-69 in the Toyota Center.
The Tigers are currently ranked No. 1 in KenPom, achieving the top spot after last weekend’s win over the Cougars. They are also ranked fifth in the most recent AP Poll, but most likely subject to move up after Alabama’s loss to Purdue on Friday.
For the past couple of years, and undoubtedly this season, the strength of Bruce Pearl’s squad is its strong depth. The Tigers are led by preseason All-American Johni Broome – who’s averaging 16.7 points 9.3 rebounds per game – and is supported by senior forward Chaney Johnson. Johnson has been outstanding thus far, posting 14.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG while coming off the bench. The powerful duo of Broome and Johnson have proved to be a difficult matchup in the front court and will look to continue that success this week.
Chaney Johnson with the flush during the first half of Auburn vs Kent St. on Nov. 13, 2024.
Additionally, Auburn has been receiving outstanding guard play from many guys, including true freshman Tahaad Pettiford, Denver Jones, and Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly. Seniors Jones and Kelly were expected to be sharp shooters this season, and they haven’t disappointed. Kelly drained seven three-pointers in Auburn’s win over Vermont, good for 21 points and a 77.8 3P%, but has since cooled down a bit with only one in both of the last two games.
Jones is shooting 33.3% from deep through three outings, tallying 16 points against Vermont and 12 versus Kent State, but has also shown to be an elite defender. Pearl often refers to Jones as one of the best defensive guards in the entire country.
In just his second collegiate game in a hostile road-like environment, Pettiford shined bright against Houston, scoring 21 points on 7-for-12 from the field. He shot 5-for-8 from behind the arc, including a couple of clutch shots in crunch time to help propel the Tigers to a huge win. The New Jersey native didn’t shy away from the big moments in Houston, showing great poise and the ability to handle pressure situations.
“It wasn’t the first time something big happened like that, so I was prepared for it,” Pettiford said. “So I just had to keep my head down and keep going.”
He’s also catching the attention of his veteran teammates, who frequently express how Pettiford plays well beyond his years.
“Just watching him play and looking at how poised he was, he made it look like he’s been in college for a couple years – like he’s used to it,” Jones said of Pettiford's performance. “I’m really not surprised what he’s been doing.”
Auburn players know that in order to maintain their success this season, energy is going to play a crucial part in every game – not just the big ones.
“We’ve just got to come out ready to play like we would come out any other game,’ Jones said. “We’ve got to be just as excited as we were to play Houston to play UNA Monday. I feel like that’s gonna be the biggest key as far as being the more excited team.”
On the opposing sideline, although this is only its seventh year as a Division 1 program – transitioning from D2 in 2018 – North Alabama is a familiar foe in the Southeastern Conference. The Lions’ game against Auburn will be their sixth game against an SEC team in six seasons, recently upsetting Ole Miss on December 20, 2022 for their first SEC win in program history.
UNA is 3-1 on the season, defeating Air Force, Point University, and UT Martin all pretty handily. However, the Lions are coming off an overtime 97-96 loss to Samford, where senior guard Jacari Lane posted a career-high 32 points in the contest.
Lane leads the Lions in points (22.8), assists (4.3) and steals (3.0) per game as well as a 48.6 field goal percentage. He earned first-team All-ASUN honors last year and has broken the Division 1 school assist record in back-to-back seasons. Last year, he totaled 122 assists in 32 games, good for an average of nearly four assists per game.
“Jacari Lane is a terrific scoring guard,” Pearl said in Sunday’s presser. “He’s got great range, he’s really slippery… probably their best player.”
The Lions also present a solid frontcourt threat in sophomore forward Corneilous Williams, who spent a redshirt year at LSU before transferring to Western Carolina for his official freshman campaign. Now starting at UNA, Williams is one of 66 players in DI to have multiple double-doubles this season (UL Martin and Samford). He recorded 17 points and 16 rebounds his last time out against Samford, both good for career highs.
Similar to Auburn, UNA has a stout defense that is extremely tough to score against. In their first two games, the Lions held both Air Force and Point to below 60 points. They accomplished this just twice all of last season against Bellarmine (69-53) and Jacksonville State (61-59). UNA is ranked ninth in all of Division 1 basketball in steals per game, averaging 12.5 every outing.
“They’re deep, they play about 11 guys,” Pearl mentioned. “They average 12 or 13 steals a game, so they get after you defensively, and they don’t turn the ball over. They take really good care of the basketball.”
Auburn’s matchup with North Alabama on Monday night is set for an 8 p.m. CST tipoff and will be televised on SEC Network.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
