AUBURN, Ala. – The message was very clear in the build-up to the Southeastern Conference home opener for No. 11 Auburn in what is promising to be an electric atmosphere inside Auburn Arena Saturday afternoon. The Tigers have to play better.
"Students are back. The Jungle will be back. We're excited about the atmosphere, but the atmosphere alone is not going to win us the game," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We have to play better."
Following a disappointing loss in its first game in 11 days at Ole Miss, Auburn has an opportunity to get back on track when it welcomes the most familiar foe in program history in Georgia.
The Bulldogs hold a slight 94-93 lead in the overall series, but it was the Tigers that won both meetings last season during their run to the 2018 SEC title.
Auburn will have the chance to do something it hasn't done in 19 years when it hosts Georgia at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday.
"We have an opportunity, if we can beat Georgia, it'll be three straight [wins] and we haven't done that since 2000," Pearl added. "From a standpoint of trying to make history in one of the longest going rivalries, it would be good."
There will be added motivation for a few players on the Tigers' roster as four key players hail from the Peach State: Bryce Brown, Jared Harper, Anfernee McLemore and Chuma Okeke.
Brown, who dropped 28 points against Georgia at home last season, believes the Bulldogs' size could present challenges as well as opportunities. Georgia's average height in the starting lineup is 6-foot-7 with the smallest player standing at 6-foot-4.
"They have a little bigger guard play, so that could give us a challenge. We could probably play a little faster against them because of that and get the game speed sped up. I feel like that will catch them off-guard. I still feel like they're a pretty good team because of how aggressive they are on the glass. That will be a thing for us, keeping them off the glass and forcing them to not use their size over us."
The Bulldogs are second in the country in blocked shots (6.4) and sixth in defensive rebounds per game (31.1). Meanwhile, the Tigers are third in offensive rebounding, averaging 15.4 boards per contest.
Not only will Saturday provide a great matchup on the court, but it will also be a chance for Auburn fans to celebrate its history as the Tigers will honor the 1999 SEC champions on Auburn Basketball Lettermen Day.
The 1998-99 team set program records for wins in a season (29) en route to clinching what would be the second conference title in Auburn history. The Tigers earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 behind a cast of standouts, highlighted by All-Americans Chris Porter and Doc Robinson.
"I think it just means more to your lettermen when your program is getting to be more competitive like ours in the league," Pearl said. "It's great to have those guys back. It's wonderful that we're going to be able to honor them. The best team to ever play here at Auburn and I know our fans are really looking forward to it."
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 ESPN2 with Tom Hart and Sean Farnham describing the action.
Player to watch: Austin Wiley
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Austin Wiley has been a beast on the inside. He has averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a starter this season. In his career, the Hoover, Ala. native has touted averages of 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks against Georgia in his career. Wiley is also a 70 percent shooter (7-10) from the charity stripe lifetime vs. the Bulldogs
Inside the series: Georgia
This is the 188th all-time meeting between Auburn and Georgia with Georgia holding a slim 94-93 advantage. The Tigers swept the season series last season, winning 79-65 in Auburn and 78-61 in Athens. A win would give Auburn three straight wins over Georgia for the first time since defeating the Bulldogs three straight times from Jan. 3, 1998-Jan. 8, 2000.
In Auburn, the Tigers have won 11 of the last 14 meetings between the two and hold a 60-24 advantage.
Tigers from long range
Against Ole Miss, Auburn made 14 3s. It is the third time the Tigers have made at least 14 3-pointers this season. Auburn has made double-digit 3-pointers in eight of 14 games this season. For the season, Auburn is 10th nationally averaging 10.7 made 3s per game. Auburn's 150 3-point field goals are 11 more than the Tigers' previous record of 139 3s in the first 14 games of the 2015-16 season.
Auburn has made double-digit 3s in 53 of 146 games (36.3 percent) under head coach Bruce Pearl. Prior to Pearl's arrival, the Tigers had just 124 games with at least 10 3s in 855 games since the creation of the 3-point shot in college basketball for the 1986-87 season (14.5 percent).
Balanced scoring
Auburn is second in the SEC averaging 83.9 points per game because of a balanced attack that has six Tigers averaging at least 8.6 points per game including Bryce Brown (15.9), Jared Harper (14.5), Austin Wiley (11.5), Chuma Okeke (10.3), Malik Dunbar (8.7) and Samir Doughty (8.6).
Five times this season Auburn has had at least five players score in double figures. Nine different Tigers have scored in double figures at least once this season. Auburn has topped the 80-point plateau in eight of 14 games, plus AU has surpassed the 90-point mark five times and has scored 100-plus twice. The Tigers are 8-0 when scoring at least 80 points.
No. 11 Tigers look to get back on track in SEC home opener
