AUBURN, Ala. – Coming into this season, Chris Moore had played in 50 games at Auburn. On Monday, in Auburn's win over George Mason to open the season, Moore earned his first career start for the Tigers and finished with eight points, three rebounds and two steals.
Next Game:
USF
Nov. 11, 2022
7 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"It was a milestone that I got to check off my list after the game," the junior said.
Moore credited teammate Allen Flanigan for helping with his mindset leading up to the season. The two were competing for the same starting job in the preseason, but it's a relationship between them that is bigger than competition.
"There's always going to be competition because it's a dog-eat-dog world, but me and him coming from the same state, we've got brotherly love that a lot of other people don't have on certain teams," Moore said. "Being a starter for the first time in my career is definitely a milestone, and I just can't wait to continue showing everything I've got this season."
To Flanigan's credit, he doesn't mind coming off the bench behind Moore. He played more minutes Monday night and looked healthy again after an Achilles injury derailed his season last year. He might start this season, bextut regardless of who starts, there's no drop-off when one replaces the other. They want to be the best 3 man in the country … together.
It's that way at every position for the Tigers this year where depth is their biggest strength.
"We've got tremendous depth as a team," Flanigan said. "The lineups can change at any moment, different guys will start, but just knowing we're a team at the end of the day. We're just putting ourselves together trying to be the best in the country."
That depth will be put to the test again Friday when No. 15 Auburn hosts a USF team that led most of the game last year when the two sides met in Tampa.
This year's contest is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. CT from Neville 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 streamed exclusively on SEC Network+.
PLAYER TO WATCH: WENDELL GREEN JR.
Junior point guard Wendell Green Jr. registered a game-high 16 points in the Tigers' season opener versus George Mason. He has now scored in double figures in 43 of 64 career games played. Last season, Green had an 11-game double-digit scoring streak and led the SEC in plus-minus during the regular season. The Auburn floor general also dished out a team-leading 172 assists, which was the eighth most in a single season in program history.
INSIDE THE SERIES: USF
Auburn leads 6-1 in the all-time series with USF. Last year, the Tigers battled back from a 15-point deficit in the first half to win 58-52 on the road. Guards K.D. Johnson and Zep Jasper led the team in scoring with 15 and 13 points respectively.
It was the second straight victory in the series for Auburn who is a perfect 3-0 on its home court against the Bulls heading to Friday night's contest.
HOME SWEET HOME
Auburn had a capacity crowd of 9,121 on opening night at Neville Arena to mark its 24th-consecutive regular-season capacity crowd (minus the COVID season in 2020-21).
For the first time in Neville Arena history, Auburn sold out all 16 regular-season home games during the 2021-22 season. The Tigers were one of only nine schools nationally to sell out all of their home games, joining the likes of Arkansas, Dayton, Duke, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Michigan State, Purdue and Villanova.