The Auburn Tigers are feeling great after smashing college basketball blueblood Indiana last Saturday and will play at a high level on Sunday when Bronny James and the USC Trojans pay a visit to Neville Arena.
In between those two games is a neutral site tilt with UNC Asheville at the Rocket City Classic at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center on Wednesday night. Can the Tigers avoid the trap game stigma surrounding this game? ESPN appears to think so.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game between the Tigers and Bulldogs, ESPN’s matchup predictor forecasts a huge Auburn victory by giving them a 90.4% chance to win.
Asheville is 5-5, but their best win is against a Western Kentucky team that is No. 148 in the latest KenPom ranking. Despite their lack of a quality win, the Bulldogs have several talented pieces such as forward Drew Pember. Pember leads Asheville in several categories such as points per game and rebounds per game. He has caught the attention of Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.
“He’s a handful. He can shoot the three ball, he’s a good passer, he can put his back to the basket, he can put the ball on the floor, he protects the basket and knows how to play. I’m hoping and thinking that between Johni and Dylan (Cardwell) and Jaylin and Chaney (Johnson), those four guys will be excited about the challenge.”
The Tigers and Bulldogs will tip off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT at Von Braun Center in Huntsville. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
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