» 2023 will come to a close as Auburn (9-2) gets set to host Chattanooga (8-4) for a late-night Saturday meeting on the hardwood at Neville Arena.
» The Chattanooga game moved to an 8 p.m. tipoff due to the Music City Bowl football game between Auburn and Maryland – giving fans a chance to watch both games on Saturday.
» The Tigers are on a roll having won their last four-straight games by an average margin of +22.3 points against Indiana, preseason Big South Conference favorite UNC Asheville, USC and Alabama State combined.
Next Game:
vs. Chattanooga
Dec. 30, 2023
8 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
» Auburn has seen an uptick in its shooting from the floor and 3-point range over the last four games as well. The Tigers have shot 123-of-251 (49.0%) from the floor in those games compared to 189-of-426 (44.4%) in their first seven games of the season. Additionally, they have shot 35-of-95 (36.8%) from long range compared to 48-of-162 (29.6%) in the first seven games.
» A win on Saturday night would give the Tigers their 51st-consecutive home win over a non-conference opponent.
» Auburn is currently receiving votes – one spot outside of the Top 25 – in this week's Associated Press Poll. The Tigers are rated No. 11 according to the latest KenPom rankings and No. 8 according to the Bart Torvik and Evan Miya websites, with a Top 20 offense (No. 15) and defense (No. 18).
» Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl is 3-0 all-time against Chattanooga in his 29-year coaching career with all three meetings occurring during his time at Tennessee. Each of his Vols' teams were ranked in those meetings (No. 10 in 2007, No. 14 in 2008 and No. 23 in 2010).
A LOOK AT THE MOCS
» The Mocs are off to an 8-4 start to the season including a road win at Louisville (W, 81-71) on Nov. 10.
» Chattanooga had its three-game win streak snapped by Milwaukee in overtime (L, 83-85) on Dec. 22, prior to heading into the holiday break.
» The Mocs were picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference and are led by sophomore guard Honor Huff (16.8 ppg), a preseason All-SoCon selection, and sophomore forward Sam Alexis, who ranks 14th in the country in blocked shots per game (2.36). Alexis was a SoCon All-Freshman Team selection a year ago.
» Chattanooga currently ranks No. 10 nationally in 3-point field goals per game (10.8), No. 3 in 3-point field goal attempts per game (31.1) and No. 19 in defensive rebounds per game (29.58).
SERIES NOTES
» This is the fifth all-time meeting between Auburn and Chattanooga. Both teams split the first four games in the series.
» The Tigers and Mocs last met 32 years ago resulting in an 87-75 win for Chattanooga on its home court on Dec. 29, 1991. The home team is 4-0 in the series.
AGAINST THE SOCON
» Auburn is 57-26 lifetime against the current members of the Southern Conference.
» Auburn was one of the original members of the SoCon from 1921-1932 winning its first regular-season league title in 1928. It is the fifth-oldest major college athletic conference in the country behind the Big Ten (1896) and Missouri Valley (1907) Conferences.
ELITE COMPANY
» Auburn is amongst elite company with five 1,000 point scorers on its roster this season. The NCAA compiles a comprehensive list of teams who have multiple 1,000-point scorers on the roster including those who played at any NCAA institution (Division I, II and III) or at the junior college level.
» St. John's (N.Y.) currently boasts six 1,000 point scorers on its roster, while TCU and Auburn are tied for second most in the country with 5. Conference foe Missouri also has five on its roster, but two players carried over career points from their respective JUCO careers.
» K.D. Johnson (Georgia-Auburn combined) and Jaylin Williams both entered the 1,000 Career Point Club against Alabama State on Dec. 22 and have tabulated1,008 and 1,003 career points to date. Johni Broome (1,614), Chaney Johnson (1,240) and Denver Jones (1,040) reached that same milestone in their combined Morehead State-Auburn, UAH-Auburn and FIU-Auburn careers respectively.
» Williams became the 39th player in program history to gain entrance into the 1,000-Career Point Club – the first in five years since Bryce Brown (8th, 1,673) and Jared Harper (13th, 1,227) did so during their senior campaigns that ended in the 2019 national semifinals.
AUBURN OFF TO A HOT START
» The Tigers are off to an 9-2 start to the season – the sixth time in the last seven seasons Auburn has started 9-2 or better.
» Prior to the 2017-18 season, the last time Auburn started 9-2 or better was the 2007-08 season when the Tigers went 9-2 in their first 11 contests.
» The last time Auburn started 10-2 or better prior to the 2017-18 season was the 2002-03 season when the Tigers went 15-2.
SEASON START
2017-18 16-1
2018-19 9-1
2019-20 15-0
2021-22 22-1
2022-23 11-2
2023-24 9-2
CLEANING THE GLASS
» Auburn ranks fourth in the SEC with a +6.64 rebounding margin. The Tigers are 6-1 when outrebounding their opponent this season. AU has only been outrebounded on the glass twice this season (-4 vs. Virginia Tech and -3 vs. USC).
» Additionally, the Tigers have matched their opponent on the boards twice versus the No. 20-ranked Baylor and Notre Dame. Auburn currently ranks 21st nationally with a 35.5 offensive rebounding percentage and 32nd with a 54.5 total rebounding percentage, per teamrankings.com.
MAKING EVERY SHOT COUNT
» After going 26-of-32 from the free-throw line against Alabama State, Auburn is shooting 83-of-102 (81.4 pct.) over the last four games. The hot streak has seen the Tigers rise to fourth in the SEC with a 73.7 free-throw percentage for the season.
» AU is shooting 181-of-237 (76.4%) in its nine wins compared to 26-of-44 (59.1%) in its two losses. That is an average of 20.1-of-26.3 in wins compared to 13.0-of-22.0 in losses.
» Chad Baker-Mazara ranks third in the SEC shooting 88.2 percent (30-of-34) from the foul line this season. Denver Jones, who is 26-of-28 (92.9%) from the charity stripe, would lead the SEC in free-throw percentage, if he had two more made free throws on the season to reach the qualification of 2.5 made free throws per game.
HOLD THE WHISTLE
» Auburn set a new season low in fouls committed in two of the last three games. The Tigers were called for 16 fouls against UNC Asheville and then bested that with just 13 fouls committed in their last game against Alabama State.
» AU has been called for 18.3 fouls in its nine wins compared to 25.0 fouls in its two losses.
PLAYER TO WATCH: JAYLIN WILLIAMS
» Graduate senior forward Jaylin Williams is playing some of the best basketball of his career leading Auburn to its fourth-straight win of the season with an 82-62 rout of Alabama State on Dec. 22 at Neville Arena. It marked the Tigers' 50th-consecutive home win over a non-conference opponent.
» Williams recorded a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 field goals and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line to go with three rebounds, one assist and one steal against the Hornets. It was his sixth career 20-point game and his second of the season (24 points vs. Indiana).
» He became the 39th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau. Coming into the game needing 17 points to reach the milestone, Williams hit the 1,000 mark in the second half with a left-handed lay-up in transition, and then nearly brought the house down with a one-handed alley-oop dunk from sophomore teammate Tre Donaldson the next time down the court. He has now tabulated 1,003 career points to date.