AUBURN, Ala. – No team in college basketball is more excited to be back home than No. 16 Auburn this week. The Tigers suffered their first two losses of the season last week on the road at Alabama and at Florida, and in those two games, they averaged 55.5 points game and shot 28.8 percent from the field (34 of 118).
Compare that to playing at home this season where Auburn is 9-0 and averaging 86.1 points per game on 49.5 percent shooting. Since the home finale of the 2016-17 season, the Tigers are 40-3 at home.
"We just need to come back and fix some things," sophomore guard Jamal Johnson said. "It's hard to win on the road, especially in the SEC. Coming back and playing in front of the best fans in the country will get us riled up again. We'll tweak some things and we'll be good."
Head coach Bruce Pearl also knows that the home crowd isn't going to rebound and make shots for his Auburn team Wednesday night when a physical South Carolina bunch comes to town in the first of two home games this week. The Tigers need to continue to defend and play with effort and energy like they have all season. That's what helped them jump out to a 15-0 start.
"We knew coming into the season that defense and rebounding were going to have to carry the day," Pearl said. "That this team had a chance to be better defensively and rebounding than a year ago, than a Final Four team, but had very little chance of being better offensively.
"The attitude is great and has been great all year long. The guys are working really hard."
Wednesday's game will tip off at 6 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 ESPNU with Tom Hart and Andy Kennedy on the call.
Player to watch: Austin Wiley
In his final season with Auburn, Austin Wiley is among the SEC's best big men after the first quarter of the league's slate. The senior is second in the SEC in rebounding at 9.2 boards per game. In addition, Wiley has racked up seven double-doubles, good for second in the conference. The Hoover, Ala. native has scored in double figures 12 times and has eight double-digit rebounding efforts.
Inside the series: South Carolina
Auburn and South Carolina are set to meet for the 45th time Wednesday night. The Tigers lead the series 25-19, including an 11-8 mark at home. They have won four of the last five battles inside Auburn Arena, the most recent coming on March 3, 2018 when they won 79-70 to clinch the third SEC regular season title in program history.
Last season, Auburn and South Carolina split the two games between the two teams. The Gamecocks won the first meeting in Columbia, 80-77, before the Tigers earned the 73-64 decision in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
Head coach Bruce Pearl is 15-6 against South Carolina in his head coaching career, which includes a 3-4 mark as Auburn's head coach. Pearl was 12-2 against South Carolina in his six years at Tennessee. Pearl is 3-4 coaching against South Carolina head coach Frank Martin with all seven games coming with both coaches at their current respective schools.
Back Home
After tasting defeat for the first time this season last week, the Tigers return to the friendly confines of Auburn Arena, where they have experienced loads of success over the past few seasons.
Auburn is 40-3 over its last 43 games at home, dating back to the home finale of the 2016-17 season. In that span, the Tigers are 18-3 inside Auburn Arena vs. SEC foes, outscoring the opposition 83.0-70.6 with 14 of those wins coming by double digits.
Suits And Sneakers Week
Jan. 20-26 is Coaches vs. Cancer's Suits And Sneakers Week. Coaches vs. Cancer is a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Over the past 26 years, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised over $125 million to fight cancer. For more information, please visit www.cancer.org/our-partners/coaches-vs-cancer.html.