After winning their first eight games of the 2025–26 season, the Auburn Tigers women’s basketball team hit its first roadblock of the year, dropping back-to-back games against Oregon and Syracuse.
The Tigers will hope to regain their confidence on the road against Seton Hall on Saturday at noon, marking their first game in more than a week.
A win against the Pirates would be massive for the Tigers as they look to cap off an impressive nonconference slate, one in which they notched the best start in program history at 8–0, tying the 2008–09 team, and build momentum heading into conference play.
While the back-to-back losses may have slowed the Tigers’ red-hot momentum to start the season, there have also been some bright spots. In the two losses, the Tigers posted a combined point differential of minus-11 and held their opponents under 20% shooting from 3-point range. Although there is no question first-year head coach Larry Vickers and the Tigers will look to address the issues that emerged against the Ducks and the Orange, Auburn will have a great opportunity for improvement against a Seton Hall team that is currently on its own two-game skid and searching for consistency.
The Tigers’ matchup against the Oregon Ducks ended disappointingly, as they recorded their first loss of the season despite leading by nine at halftime.
Auburn will hope to improve its playmaking and second-half adjustments as the season continues, but the Tigers have also proven capable of going on strong shooting streaks. After a monster second quarter in which Auburn scored 21 points, the Tigers were outscored by 14 and held to 8-of-27 shooting for the remainder of the game.
Auburn will also be looking to limit turnovers on offense for the rest of the season. Turnovers played a deciding role in the Tigers’ overtime loss to Syracuse last Wednesday, as Auburn committed a season-high 27 turnovers while allowing Syracuse to score 27 points off those mistakes. In a game that featured seven lead changes and ultimately ended in a six-point loss, ball security on offense became even more critical.
As the season goes on, the Tigers are likely to face many close matchups in which they will need to clean up their offensive play and execute more efficiently late in games.
Make sure to watch Auburn take on Seton Hall this Saturday at 12 p.m. CST on ESPN+, as the Tigers look to continue their historic start to the 2025–26 season.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
