Dec. 18, 2017
Auburn vs. Murray State
(2017-18 RECORD: 9-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. (2017-18 RECORD: 7-2, 0-0 OVC)
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| Tue, Dec 19 | 7 p.m. |
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - It's been a while since Auburn has been in this position. The Tigers are 9-1 following Saturday's win over Middle Tennessee State -- a feat that no Auburn team has accomplished since the 1999-2000 team did it. That team went on to win a game in the NCAA Tournament that season.
If this year's Auburn team wants to follow that same path to the Big Dance, Tuesday's game at Murray State will be critical. The Racers might not be ranked as high in the RPI as MTSU, but the selection committee values how you play in true road games.
The good news for Auburn fans is that including a win at Dayton earlier this season, the Tigers have won their last four true road non-conference games.
Murray State is also a team that will help Auburn prepare for SEC play, which begins two weeks from Tuesday. Led by seniors Terrell Miller Jr. (16.7) and Jonathan Stark (15.2), the Racers are averaging 82.7 points per game through their first nine games.
"It will be good playing a team like Murray State," Auburn guard Bryce Brown said. "It will prepare us for conference play because they have a lot of good offensive players and a lot of good players that can take you off the bounce and that can pull. That's how a lot of guards are in the SEC, so it will just be exciting to get better playing against them."
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. CT. Rod Bramblett and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. You can also watch the live feed on OVCDigitalNetwork.com.
Player to watch: Chuma Okeke
In five games away from Auburn Arena this season, freshman Chuma Okeke has been one of the Tigers' most efficient players on the floor. Okeke is averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in games in away and neutral site contests in 2017. Per 40 minutes, the Atlanta, Ga., native touts 21.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest in games away from The Plains this year.
Inside the series: Murray State
The Tigers and Racers are set to meet for the fifth time in series history. Auburn owns a 3-1 advantage all-time, including a 75-67 win in Birmingham on Nov. 23, 2013 -- their most recent meeting. The two sides will meet for the first time in Kentucky on Tuesday.
Happy helper
Sophomore Jared Harper has a team-high 54 assists in 10 games and has produced five games of at least seven assists or more -- the most in the SEC.
In the win against Gardner-Webb, Harper dropped a career-best 10 dimes. It was the first time a Tiger has notched 10 assists in a game since Kareem Canty did it against Northwestern State in 2015. The school record is 15 assists set by Eddie Johnson against LSU in 1976.
An early Christmas present?
Auburn will be looking to do something it has only accomplished once since the 1999-2000 season -- winning 10 or more games by Dec. 25. Last year, the Tigers won 10 games before Christmas to break a 16-year streak without accomplishing the feat.
This season, Auburn (9-1) still has two chances -- at Murray State and home against Connecticut -- to get to 10 wins before the annual holiday.
On this date
On Dec. 19, 1957, Rex Frederick set a program record that still stands to this day. In a game at SMU, Frederick pulled down a career-best 27 rebounds.
The Tigers are 18-12 on this date all-time and have won seven of their last eight.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf