AUBURN, Ala. – Running down No. 6 Tennessee’s strengths – defense, offensive rebounding and 3-point shooting, No. 1 Auburn coach Bruce Pearl needed only nine words to summarize the challenge the Tigers face Saturday night.
“We’re going to have to be at our best,” he said.
The buildup to the matchup matches what one would expect when No. 1 hosts No. 6. ESPN College GameDay will broadcast from Neville Arena Saturday morning, marking the program’s fifth straight season to visit the Plains.
“It speaks to the incredible home-court advantage we have at Neville Arena,” Pearl said. “The best home-court advantage in all of college basketball thanks to the Auburn family. I’m happy for our players, who have worked so hard to get that visibility. Happy for our student body and our university as well.”
“This is one of the truly great environments in basketball,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. “I believed Bruce would do an unbelievable job here. I just didn’t imagine it would be to this level. That was beyond my comprehension. This is an extraordinarily good offensive team in addition to being an outstanding defensive team.”
“The makeup of this building is perfect,” ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said. “Where you seat the students is perfect. The students are involved in the game, they’re participants in the game, they have ownership in the game. That’s what makes this place different. It’s an incredible environment.”
While All-American Johni Broome could be closer to returning after missing Auburn’s past two games with an ankle injury, Pearl praised Dylan Cardwell’s contributions, especially in Broome’s absence.
“Dylan Cardwell impacts winning in a huge, huge way,” Pearl said. “He’s the best defender in our league. He does it on the inside, he does it on the perimeter. Defense and rebounding win championships, and we’ve got the best in our league.”
Saturday’s game is the Tigers’ annual AUTLIVE game, highlighting Auburn basketball’s fight against cancer through awareness about early detection and proceeds of t-shirt sales benefiting local cancer patients.
“The best way to outlive cancer is to detect it early,” Pearl said. “One hundred percent of everything that comes into our foundation goes back to patients battling cancer. By giving to AUTLIVE, you’re going to be helping somebody directly.”
Seeking its 11th consecutive victory, No. 1 Auburn (17-1, 5-0), the SEC’s only unbeaten team in conference play, hosts No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will call the top-10 matchup on the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer