AUBURN, Ala. – Through the first month of conference play, No. 1 Auburn sits alone atop the SEC standings at 8-0. On Saturday, for the first time since Dec. 22, the Tigers will step out of the league and host Oklahoma in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Next Game:
Oklahoma
Jan. 29, 2022
1 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
The SEC games are all important as Auburn chases a regular season title, but Saturday's game is important, too, with conference bragging rights on the line.
"It's a matter of pride," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "And I do think it will affect seeding come tournament time in the sense that if one league is able to get an edge over the other, then that league has got a chance to maybe get one more team in or maybe get a couple bumps up a couple seed lines, and that could make a lot of difference as far as who advances and who doesn't."
Auburn is 2-4 all-time in the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge since its inception in 2013 and is 2-2 in the event under Pearl. Prior to last year's loss to Baylor, the Tigers had won back-to-back games against Iowa State (2020) and TCU (2017).
Unlike last year against Baylor, Oklahoma isn't ranked No. 2 in the country. However, the Sooners have already knocked off two SEC teams this season in Arkansas and Florida and are coming off a 72-62 road win at West Virginia.
"They're probably a win away against the No. 1 team in the country from being right there on the bubble or being an NCAA tournament team," Pearl said. "This is a really good team and a really good matchup. That said, I do think it's probably good for both teams to step out of conference and play somebody that doesn't play them twice a year every year."
The Tigers (19-1, 8-0) and Sooners (13-7, 3-5) will tip off at 1 p.m. CT from Auburn Arena. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM and online at AuburnTigers.com, and the game will also be televised on ESPN with Tom Hart and Carolyn Peck on the call.
PLAYER TO WATCH: K.D. JOHNSON
Auburn's emotional leader, sophomore K.D. Johnson, scored the team's last five points – including the go-ahead bucket with 1:27 remaining – in a 55-54 win at Missouri on Tuesday. Johnson has scored in double digits in six consecutive games entering the Oklahoma contest. During that span, he's averaging 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals while hitting on 14-of-33 (.424) from downtown. He's second in the SEC with 44 steals.
INSIDE THE SERIES: OKLAHOMA
Auburn and Oklahoma will be meeting for the first time since 2016 and just the fourth time in series history. This will mark the first non-neutral site game between the Tigers and Sooners.
In December 2016, Auburn defeated Oklahoma, 74-70, in the Basketball Hall of Fame's Birth of Basketball showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. T.J. Dunans and Jared Harper both scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Tigers. In the second round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament, No. 1 seed Oklahoma defeated Auburn, 107-87, at Omni Arena in Atlanta en route to the national championship game where the Sooners fell to Kansas.
HONORING COACH SONNY SMITH
Sonny Smith, the first coach to lead the Auburn men's basketball program to the NCAA Tournament, will be honored with a banner unveiling in Auburn Arena pregame Saturday.
Smith served as Auburn's head coach from 1978-89, compiling a record of 173-154 and guiding the Tigers to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984-88. He currently provides color commentary for Auburn men's basketball on the Auburn Sports Network, a role he has held since 2012.
He directed Auburn to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 1984 and to its first-ever SEC Tournament title in 1985. He led Auburn to its first-ever Sweet 16 appearance in 1985 and a year later to its first-ever Elite Eight appearance. Smith was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1988 and was the NABC District Coach of the Year in 1984. Smith was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.