AUBURN, Ala. – On Monday, Auburn cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time this season at No. 25. On Tuesday, the 25th-ranked Tigers (10-2) will close out the non-conference schedule with a home matchup against Penn from the Ivy League.
Next Game:
vs. Penn
Jan. 2, 2024
8 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"Penn is historically one of the best teams in the Ivy League," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They will play awfully hard. They will play awfully smart. They will be the best-coached team that we'll play against from the standpoint of their coach and how well he's able to translate that to his players. They're always in the right place at the right time."
For Auburn, it will be about carrying over what worked in Saturday's 101-66 win over Chattanooga into Tuesday night's contest. That starts with the frontcourt duo of Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome who combined for 39 points on 18-of-21 shooting.
Williams, in particular, has been on a tear since Auburn's loss at Appalachian State last month. The fifth-year senior is averaging 17.4 points per game over his last five games and is shooting nearly 69 percent (33-48) over that span.
"Jaylin Williams is playing his best basketball right now," Pearl said. "I'm really happy for him and proud of him. He's doing it on both ends of the floor, and he's doing it really unselfishly and really efficiently. And he's doing it athletically. You're starting to see the real athleticism that he possesses and the upside.
"There's never been a better time than right now for us, and this is a great time right now for him as he is the all-time winningest player in Auburn basketball history."
Tuesday's matchup between the Tigers and Quakers will mark the first Auburn sporting event of 2024. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 94.3 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn app. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
PLAYER TO WATCH: CHAD BAKER-MAZARA
Junior transfer Chad Baker-Mazara recorded his fifth game in double figures this season with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep, in Saturdays' win over Chattanooga. Head coach Bruce Pearl referred to him as a "stat sheet stuffer" as he added two assists, one rebound and one steal in the victory.
Baker-Mazara is averaging 19.5 minutes off the bench and is the team's fourth-leading scorer (8.6 ppg) and fourth-leading rebounder (3.4 rpg). He is also 19-for-20 from the free throw line over the last seven contests.
INSIDE THE SERIES: PENN
Auburn is 1-0 in the all-time series vs. Penn with the only previous matchup coming Dec. 11, 1999. The Tigers, ranked No. 8 nationally, won 77-70 in the Arby's Hardwood Classic held in Birmingham, Alabama. Doc Robinson and Scott Pohlman each scored 16 points while Mamadou N'Diaye added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Auburn is 6-1 all-time against Ivy League opponents, including a 2-1 mark under head coach Bruce Pearl. Five Tigers scored in double figures led by K.D. Johnson's 19 points in an 86-64 victory over Yale two years ago in the team's last matchup against an Ivy League foe.
KEEPING IT 100
Auburn's 101-point performance against Chattanooga was the Tigers' second time scoring 100 points in a game this season after scoring 104 against Indiana on Dec. 9 in Atlanta.
It marks the first time Auburn has scored 100 points in two regulation games in the same season since the 2018-19 season when the Tigers scored 101 points against South Alabama and 103 points against Mississippi College. Auburn also had two 100-point games during the 2021-22 season including a 109-point effort in a double-overtime game against UConn and a 100-point performance against Alabama.
Auburn joins Alabama and Kentucky as the only SEC teams with multiple 100-point games this season.
IT JUST MEANS MORE
Playing Penn has a little extra meaning for Auburn assistant coach Ira Bowman. He played for the Quakers from 1994-96 and prior to coming to the Plains, he was an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2012-18. In 1996, he was named the Ivy League Player of the Year.