AUBURN, Ala. – The first month of the 2019-20 season is over and through the first eight games, No. 12 Auburn has yet to lose. The Tigers are one of five undefeated teams still standing in college basketball.
"We're all about making history, so I think that would be another step toward making history," senior Anfernee McLemore said. "We go out every night kind of expecting to win every game, hoping to win every game, and we're just going to keep playing. We're not striving to be the last (undefeated) team. We're just going to keep playing until it happens."
Auburn will put that perfect record to the test this Saturday when it travels to Birmingham to play in the second annual Mike Slive Invitational. After knocking off UAB in last year's event, the Tigers will face a Saint Louis team this year that is 8-1 and coming off a season in which it won 23 games, including the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
"I think Saint Louis will be the best team we've played so far," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They've got the best athletes, they've got good depth, and they've got some guys that can really shoot it.
"If you look around the country and you look at the schedule of the teams that are playing on Saturday, this is one of the best games in college basketball. I'm excited about coming up to Birmingham and playing in the arena. We're going to have to play better against Saint Louis University than we did in our last few games to get this win."
Saturday's game will tip off at 3 p.m. CT from Legacy Arena at the BJCC. 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 ESPN2 with Mike Morgan and Jimmy Dykes on the call.
Mike Slive Invitational
The Mike Slive Invitational is an annual event played in celebration of the life and impact of former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive, while raising national awareness in the fight against prostate cancer. For more information, please visit mikeslivefoundation.org.
Player to watch: J'Von McCormick
In his first season in the starting lineup, J'Von McCormick has flourished as the floor general. The senior has 51 assists through eight games after totaling 53 all of last season. McCormick touts a 2.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is tops in the SEC and ranks 25th in the country. The New Orleans native set an Auburn single-game record with 16 dimes against CSUN earlier this season.
Inside the series: Saint Louis
Auburn and Saint Louis have squared off just once in program history with the Tigers taking a 70-66 decision in 1969. Auburn is 20-9 against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, including wins against Davidson in the Veterans Classic and Richmond in the championship game of the Legends Classic.
Leave no Dought(y)
After being a secondary scoring option last season, senior Samir Doughty has asserted himself as the top option in 2019-20. He's averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor, including 39 percent from behind the arc. Last season, Doughty had an average of 7.3 points per game. Over the last five games, the Philadelphia native is averaging 21.4 points per tilt while shooting at a 51.5 clip.