AUBURN, Ala.— The Auburn men’s basketball team will host Southern Indiana in an exhibition game on Friday evening at Auburn Arena with tipoff set for 7 p.m. CT.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, in his eighth season at the helm for the Tigers, was the head coach at Southern Indiana for nine seasons from 1992-2001, leading the Screaming Eagles to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 1994-95. Current USI head coach Stan Gouard played under Pearl and was the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II National Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
The Tigers return three starters from last season including junior guard Allen Flanigan, junior forward Jaylin Williams, and junior guard Devan Cambridge. Flanigan, who is out with an injury, is one of the Southeastern Conference’s top returning players after averaging 14.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.
Auburn has six newcomers, including transfer Walker Kessler and freshman Jabari Smith. Smith is Auburn’s fourth-ever McDonald’s All-American and was named to the SEC coaches preseason all-conference second team joining Flanigan who was named to the first team.
Southern Indiana, which returns four starters from last season, is predicted to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division.
A limited amount of upper-level standing-room-only tickets are available for $15 and can be purchased here.
The game will not be televised or available on the radio. Live stats will be available on AuburnTigers.com.
The Tigers will begin the 2021-22 season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Morehead State at Auburn Arena.
This was a release from Auburn Athletics.