AUBURN, Ala. – For the Auburn men's basketball team, the 2019-20 season gets underway Tuesday night inside Auburn Arena. Despite losing five key contributors from last year's team, there's still plenty of optimism surrounding the program heading into this year.
The Tigers, ranked No. 24 nationally, certainly looked the part in Friday's 97-53 exhibition win over Eckerd College, but the real test comes Tuesday in the opener against a talented Georgia Southern team that has won 21 games in each of the last two seasons.
"We're going to find out a lot about ourselves here on Tuesday night," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Georgia Southern is a really good team. They're picked to be in the top three for the Sun Belt Conference. A very, very experienced team.
"They're a high-scoring team. Last year they scored in the low 80s. As far as opening night matchups in college basketball, this is the highest-scoring matchup in college basketball considering we were at about 80 (points) and they were at 82 last year. This ball is going to get up and down, and it's going to fly around the court."
This will be Auburn's first true game since playing in the Final Four in April. Though, as mentioned above, this year's roster will look a lot different than it did in April.
The good news is that Tigers still have five seniors back who are ready to step up and take on bigger roles this coming season. They also have a loaded newcomer group that is eager to contribute, beginning with the first game against Georgia Southern where they wil be making their Auburn debut.
"I'm very excited," Auburn freshman Isaac Okoro said. "My goal is to just go out there and get a good team win. Start the season right with a 1-0 record."
Tuesday's opener is scheduled to tip at 8 p.m. CT from Auburn Arena. Andy Burcham 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 Tom Hart and Daymeon Fishback on the call.
Tickets for Tuesday's game are still available at AuburnTigers.com.
Player to Watch: J'Von McCormick
Taking over the keys to the offense this season, senior J'Von McCormick is ready to lead the Tigers into the 2019-20 season. In his career, Auburn is 9-2 when McCormick plays 15-plus minutes. The New Orleans native showed out in the exhibition win against Eckerd, notching 20 points on 8-of-13 from the field to go along with five assists in 23 minutes.
Inside the Series: Georgia Southern
Tuesday's matchup will be the eighth in series history between Auburn and Georgia Southern. The Tigers lead the series 7-0 with six of the seven victories coming at home.
In the most recent meeting between the two schools, Auburn earned a 92-62 win on Nov. 20, 2015. In that game, the Tigers had six players with nine or more points, including four in double figures. That was also the first and only time Bruce Pearl has faced Georgia Southern in his coaching career.
Auburn in season openers
Auburn has an 82-31 (.726) all-time record in season openers, including a 60-9 mark at home. This will be the 12th straight season the Tigers have opened at home. They have won 38 of their last 45 season openers, including a 101-58 victory over South Alabama in Auburn Arena last season where Jared Harper and Chuma Okeke both scored a team-high 20 points to lead the way.
Bruce Pearl in season openers
Since taking over as Auburn's head coach in 2014, Bruce Pearl has won all five season openers with the Tigers. He's 23-1 (.958) in season openers all-time, having won 13 in a row.
2018: W, 101-58, vs. South Alabama
2017: W, 102-74, vs. Norfolk State
2016: W, 83-66, vs. North Florida
2015: W, 75-74, vs. UAB
2014: W, 83-73, vs. Milwaukee