Fresh off a hard fought loss, the still No.1 Auburn Tigers travel to the Music City to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in this conference matchup.
While many thought the Tigers would lose their number one seeding following a 9-point loss at home to the No. 6 Florida Gators, the AP Poll voters thought otherwise, with Auburn receiving 34 of the 62 possible first place votes.
While Vanderbilt is unranked following the week 15 AP Poll, their wins this season resemble those of teams ranked in the top-25. Vanderbilt is 12-1 at home this season with impressive wins over then No. 1 Tennessee and No. 9 Kentucky.
Auburn has won seven of their last eight matchups against Vanderbilt, however lost 13 in a row against them prior to the last eight meetings. Pearl credits Vanderbilt’s coach, Mark Byington, for their success this season especially in the transfer portal, bringing in 11 players this off season.
“Vanderbilt has been a tough place for us to play historically… Mark has done a tremendous job, and he's an outstanding coach. He's got a great, great offensive mind. ” said Pearl.
While Coach Bruce Pearl is known for taking all games seriously, this matchup in particular is an important one for the Tigers following their tough loss this past Saturday and a matchup for the ages following this game on Saturday against No. 2 Alabama.
This game has all the makings of a trap game written all over it due to the guard play of Vanderbilt’s AJ Hoggard and Jason Edwards.
“Edwards is a kid that, a little bit of a late bloomer, but proved at North Texas that he's an unbelievable scorer,” said Pearl.
While Pearl gives the Tigers the upperhand in the post due to Auburn’s length with Broome, Dylan Cardwell, and Chaney Johnson, the physicality that both Hoggard and Edwards play with might test the Tigers’ defensively.
“Hoggard is a big, strong power forward of a point guard. I mean, he's a fullback of a point guard,” said Pearl.
While the Tigers’ are poised to win this game, a sloppy defensive performance like the one against Florida or poor shotmaking as shown against Tennessee, this game might be closer than the media is giving Vanderbilt credit for. If Auburn can hit their shots and limit the aggressive play of the Commodores’ guards, the Tigers’ should be 22-2 before they make the trip west to play in-state rival Alabama.
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Charlie is a sophomore from Mendham, New Jersey. He is majoring in journalism and started with The Plainsman in spring 2024.
