Tonight, the Auburn Tigers (4–1) will look to pick up a victory against the Oregon Ducks (4–0) in Las Vegas before facing a gauntlet to open conference play.
The Tigers are coming off a confidence-boosting 112–66 win over Jackson State. The Ducks are also coming off a victory, defeating in-state rival Oregon State 87–75 to hand the Beavers their first loss of the season and remain unbeaten.
Many Auburn players made solid impressions during their matchup against Jackson State, but perhaps none more than freshman Simon Walker, who drained all five of his attempted three-pointers. Coming in after Auburn was already up 45, Walker’s performance energized a team already firing on all cylinders.
“Definitely a lot of nerves there, especially coming off an injury and not having a ton of reps,” Walker explained. “Once you get out there and the ball’s in play, you only have time to react. I know one thing, shooters shoot. It was good to get that weight off my shoulders and get settled in. You see the first one hit the bottom of the net and you’re like, ‘Oh, here we go.’”
Walker’s emergence provides depth for an Auburn team that will be without star forward Keyshawn Hall, its best performer thus far. Other players showed their capability as well, with KeShawn Murphy leading the team in scoring with 19 points and Filip Jovic adding a career-high 18.
Oregon’s victory over Oregon State marked its ninth straight win, and it was a pair of homegrown Oregon natives who led the way. Senior Nate Bittle and junior Jackson Shelstad both scored more than 20 points, with Bittle finishing with 24 and Shelstad adding 22.
"Shots just kind of started dropping for me," Shelstad proclaimed. "They're eventually going to drop if I take the right shots, and once I see one go down I get my confidence really going."
Auburn and Oregon will face off in the first round of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, where Oregon will defend its title after defeating then–No. 9 Alabama last season. This marks Auburn’s first appearance in the tournament since its inception a year ago.
The Tigers would greatly benefit from picking up some wins during this tournament, as it would be an excellent display of skill and confidence for the new team under Steven Pearl. Additionally, following the tournament, the Tigers will face an unforgiving gauntlet consisting of four ranked opponents in their next five games, being No. 7 Michigan, No. 23 NC State, No. 2 Arizona, and No. 1 Purdue.
Oregon won’t make it easy, as the Ducks have plenty at stake in Las Vegas as well. Not only will they look to defend their tournament title, but they also hope to make an early statement before entering an increasingly competitive Big Ten, especially after last season’s Round of 32 exit.
Tipoff in Las Vegas is set for 7 p.m. CST.
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Braden is a freshman majoring in Aviation Management. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2025.
