AUBURN, Ala. – No one represents the challenge Oregon presents better than the Ducks’ 7-foot senior center Nate Bittle, whom No. 22 Auburn coach Steven pearl says, “can really stretch the floor and shoot it.”
Bittle averages 18.8 points and 9.8 while shooting 38.5-percent from 3-point range for Oregon, the 13th tallest team in college basketball. Auburn plays the Ducks Monday night in Las Vegas, a duel in the desert in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Big lineup,” said Auburn coach Steven Pearl of an undefeated Oregon, whose roster includes 6-10 Kwame Evans Jr. and 6-9 Sean Stewart. “They ultimately end up winning because they get offensive rebounds. Similar to our theme to Houston, we’re going to have to do a great job of physically boxing out because if you allow this team to get second-chance points, they can obviously make you pay.
“We can’t get away from what we do, just because they’re so tall. Once the shot goes up, it’s going to be a war in there and we’ve got to do a great job of holding our ground. They have a ton of talent, a lot of pieces this year.”
Auburn’s Elyjah Freeman should feel right at home in one of the country’s entertainment capitals, one week after his posterizing dunk against top-ranked Houston ranked as ESPN SportsCenter’s top play last Sunday.
“After, it was cool to see how many people showed love seeing the dunk,” Freeman said. “Hopefully I’ll get some more in the future.”
One of 18 teams competing in what’s billed as “the biggest college basketball event outside of March,” Auburn embraces the challenge of quick turnarounds amid compressed preparation.
“These are fun events,” Pearl said. “You learn a lot about your team. It really is all hands on deck. You’ve got to lean on your staff in these situations because you’re only as good as the (person) next to you. That’s why our staff is so successful because you can rely on everybody to do their job.
“Great opportunities. It’s going to take the entirety of our staff, our starters, our bench, our scout team.”
No. 22 Auburn (4-1) plays Oregon (4-0) Monday at 7 p.m. CT on truTV at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas before taking on No. 7 Michigan Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CT on TNT.
Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will provide play-by-play and analysis for listeners on the Auburn Sports Network.
“It’s always a great litmus test early in the year to see where we’re at,” Pearl said. “With 10 new guys going out to the Players Era to play Oregon and then a top 10 team in Michigan, it’s about locking in to what we’re doing offensively and defensively, trying to execute the game plan and go out there and play good basketball.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer