AUBURN, Ala. – There has been plenty of buzz around the Auburn basketball program this week. Fresh off a dominant victory over Washington on Friday, the Tigers jumped to No. 9 in the latest AP poll. Sophomore Chuma Okeke earned SEC Player of the Week honors after averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds through the team's first two games.
And of course, Auburn will take its show on the road next week as the team travels to Hawaii to take part in the Maui Invitational – the premier early season tournament in college basketball.
But before they do that, the Tigers have to take care of business at home Wednesday night against Mississippi College, a Division II school.
"The last 10 minutes of the Washington game was a missed opportunity for us to continue to work," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "The game was in hand and it was about getting to the finish line. As a result, the play was a little sloppy and not as effective.
"Sometimes you play the score. We don't want to do that tomorrow. You want to play hard and unselfishly. You want to continue to learn. That's the biggest thing – just continue to learn and grow."
The game also provides one last tune-up before Maui. That means extended minutes for players like Samir Doughty and Austin Wiley, who are still working their way back after sitting out all of last season. Wiley, in particular, looked rusty at times in his first game back against Washington, and Wednesday will give him another opportunity to see game action.
"It's very important to have another experience," Pearl said. "The teams that we're going to be playing in Maui, it's almost like an Elite Eight as opposed to the Maui Invitational. You could make an argument that four or five of these teams could be in the Elite Eight. We definitely need this contest."
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. CT from Auburn Arena. Rod Bramblett and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will also be televised on SEC Network+ with Brad Law and Joe Ciampi on the call.
Player to watch: Austin Wiley
As mentioned above, Wiley made his season debut against Washington. It was his first game in over 600 days. There was obvious rust, but there were plenty of positives to take away, too. In 13 minutes, the 6-foot-11, 260-pound big man scored five points, grabbed one rebound and dished out a great assist to Chuma Okeke for an assist. He will look to build on that performance Wednesday night against Mississippi College.
Inside the series: Mississippi College
Auburn and Mississippi College have split two games against each other previously. The Tigers lost the first contest in 1939 but won, 88-54, in 1981. Both games were played in Auburn.
Leaving no doubt
Auburn opened the season with a 101-58 (+43) win over South Alabama followed by an 88-66 (+22) win over Washington. It's the first time the Tigers opened with wins of 20 or more points in their first two games since the 2000-01 season when they defeated Florida A&M, 87-52, and Jacksonville State, 91-51.
Since the start of last season, 21 of Auburn's 28 wins have been by double figures. During the stretch, the team's 28 wins have come by an average of 16.2 points per win.
Winning the turnover battle
Through two games, Auburn is forcing 20 turnovers per game while only turning the ball over 12 times a game. The plus-8 turnover ratio has helped the Tigers outscore its opponents, 63-11, on points off turnovers in those games. Leading the way is junior point guard Jared Harper, who has 18 assists to just three turnovers this season. He's currently tied for 12th nationally averaging 9.0 assists per game.
Signature victory
Auburn is one of four teams that has a win over an AP-ranked opponent so far this season. The Tigers' 22-point win over No. 25 Washington is the second-largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent this season. It is just Auburn's second home non-conference win over a ranked opponent in school history and its first since a win over No. 19 North Carolina State in 1970.
Prior to the win over Washington, Auburn's last win over a ranked non-conference opponent came during the 2003 NCAA Tournament when the Tigers beat No. 8 Wake Forest, 68-62.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf
No. 9 Auburn hopes to 'learn and grow' in Maui tune-up
