AUBURN, Ala. – Only one spot stands between No. 2 Auburn and the top ranking in college basketball.
“A lot of responsibility comes with all the notoriety,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, whose Tigers received 26 first-place votes and are hot on the heels of No. 1 Kansas, with both teams sporting 7-0 records after the season’s opening month.
The Jayhawks’ signature win came in Las Vegas against No. 9 Duke, an achievement Auburn hopes to equal and exceed Wednesday with a victory on the Blue Devils’ home court in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
“We get an opportunity to play one of the best teams in the country in one of the toughest environments,” said Pearl, whose team has already earned three top-12 wins. “One thing we have in common is we both play in very intimidating places.”
Duke, says Pearl, is exactly what basketball fans have come to expect from the Blue Devils: talented and deep.
“Some of the guys on their bench were five-star, McDonald’s All-Americans, going to be great players and are just waiting their turn because the guys they have out there are terrific,” Pearl said. “For Duke to be playing this well this early, with this young of a team, is a credit to their coaching staff.
“They hang their hat on their defense. They’re the No. 1 defensive team in the country, in part because they’re so long. They’re the tallest team in the country.”
SEC player of the week Johni Broome, the MVP of the Maui Invitational, appreciates another chance to compete in a prime time, nationally televised contest.
“We’ve established ourselves as one of the best programs in the country,” Broome said. “To have the opportunity to go in there and win at Cameron, that would be special for us.”
“It’s every kid’s dream to go to Cameron,” Auburn forward Chaney Johnson said. “To have the opportunity to go in there and win a big game would be big for us.”
Johnson will be one of the Tigers tasked with guarding Duke super freshman Cooper Flagg.
“The projected No. 1 draft pick. It’s something to get excited about,” Johnson said. “Going in there and trying to handle business.”
To prepare for the famed venue and its renowned Cameron Crazies, Auburn is cranking crowd noise during practice and focusing on hand signals in case the decibels at Duke drown out Pearl’s play calls.
Quieting the crowd will be easier if Auburn can slow Duke’s outside shooting. The Blue Devils average 13 3-pointers at home while shooting 38-percent on long-range shots.
“It’s really hard to find much of a weakness,” Pearl said. “Best team we’ve played so far.”
With conference bragging rights on the line, Auburn and Duke tip off Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network, where Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will call the action for listeners.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer