Auburn faces one of its toughest challenges yet, traveling to Durham, N.C., on Wednesday night to battle the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium — the Tigers’ third top-10 matchup of the season.
“A lot of responsibility comes with all the notoriety,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “We get an opportunity to go play one of the best teams in the country, probably in one of the toughest environments.”
Auburn, ranked No. 2 in the country, boasts a 7-0 record with wins against then-No. 4 Houston, then-No. 5 Iowa State and then-No. 12 North Carolina.
The Blue Devils are no strangers to ranked matchups as well, having already squared off against No. 1 Kansas, then-No. 19 Kentucky and then-No.17 Arizona. Duke fell to Kansas by three points, Kentucky by five and beat Arizona by 14 points on the road, bringing its record to 5-2.
“Best team we’ve played so far,” Pearl said. “Duke is just so deep, so big and so talented, and without question, the toughest environment that we will play in.”
Duke is coming off a 70-48 win over Seattle where the defense held Seattle to 21.3% from the field on 47 attempts.
The Blue Devils average 80.8 points per game while holding their opponents to 58.6 points per game, boasting the ninth-ranked scoring defense in the country.
“They hang their hat on the defense,” Pearl said of the Blue Devils. “This is the number one defensive team in the country.”
On offense, five-star freshman Cooper Flagg leads Duke’s scoring effort, averaging 15.9 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. He is followed by freshman Kon Knueppel with 13.4 points per game.
With six freshmen on their roster, the Blue Devils rely heavily on their young talent. Flagg and Knueppel top the scoring charts, while freshman Khaman Maluach adds depth, ranking fifth on the team with 8.4 points per game.
Auburn has relied on its veterans early on this season, with Johni Broome leading the charge. The fifth-year power forward was the Maui Invitational MVP where he led the Tigers to a championship win, averaging 21.7 points, 15 rebounds, 4.3 assists and three blocks in the three-game tournament.
Broome leads the Tigers in scoring with an average of 20.7 points per game, followed by Chad Baker-Mazara contributing 12.6 points per game and Denver Jones with 11.1.
Auburn has scored at least 83 points in its last four games and ranks first nationally in offensive efficiency. On defense, Auburn ranks seventh nationally in defensive efficiency, and the Tigers’ perimeter defense has held its opponents to taking 27.9% of shots from the 3-point line.
Auburn is winless in three all-time meetings with Duke, with the most recent contest ending in a six-point loss at the 2018 Maui Invitational. The Tigers seek their first win against the Blue Devils as they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tipoff is at 8:15 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
