After a 12-1 finish to the non-conference schedule, the Auburn men’s basketball team gears up for the first week of SEC play. The Tigers currently sit second in the current AP poll with the most quad one wins of any team. Things only get tougher from here as the Tigers face a gauntlet through the SEC as they look to put themselves in prime position for a top seed in the SEC and NCAA Tournament. Here’s a recap from Auburn’s win over Monmouth and a look ahead to their first two SEC matchups.
Auburn 87, Monmouth 58
Auburn took care of business in their final non-conference game against Monmouth. After a week off from their win against Purdue, the Tigers started a little slow, shooting just 37% through the first 14 minutes of the game.
The game was tied at 26 with over six minutes left in the first half when Auburn went on a 20-3 run to take a 46-28 lead at halftime.
The second half was all about freshman Jakhi Howard who wowed the crowd with a windmill and behind the back alley-oop. ”That kid is a freak of nature,” said Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara. “You haven’t seen anything close of what he does in practice.”
For the eleventh straight game, the starting lineup of Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome, Denver Jones, Dylan Cardwell, and Chaney Johnson all reached double-digits. It was also the 61st consecutive non-conference victory against a non-conference opponent.
Looking Ahead
SEC play gets started on January 4th when Auburn hosts Missouri in Neville Arena. Missouri comes into this game 11-2 with losses to Illinois and Memphis. They do have a win over Kansas when the Jayhawks were ranked number one in the nation. Missouri hasn’t played the strongest of schedules so this will be a huge test to see just how good they really are. Tip-off for the game is at 3:00 p.m CT and you can watch it live on SEC Network.
Up next for Auburn is a tough road trip to the Moody Center in Austin, Texas where the Tigers will face the Texas Longhorns. Texas is also 11-2 overall with losses to UConn and Ohio State. They did beat North Carolina State during the ACC/SEC Challenge. This will be a trap game for the Tigers who need to prove themselves away from Neville Arena. One positive is their game in Cameron Indoor Stadium where they lost but handled the road environment well. Tip-off for this game is at 8:00 p.m. CT and you can watch it on ESPN2.
