On Thursday, Jon Rothstein of CollegeHoopsToday reported that Auburn would be in the field for the Cancun Challenge in 2022. Their first matchup will be against Winthrop. The Eagles finished this past season 23-9 and 1st in the Big South. That matchup will take place at Auburn on November 15th prior to the Tigers traveling to Mexico.
The second game of the challenge for the Tigers will come against Bradley. This game will take place in Cancun, Mexico on November 22nd. Last season, Bradley went 17-14 and finished 5th in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The classic will consist of eight teams. The eight teams will be split into two different sides, the Riviera division and the Mayan division. The other teams competing in the Cancun Challenge are Southern Miss, Northwestern, Liberty, and Purdue Fort Wayne. On paper, Auburn should certainly like their chances of winning the classic. They will be the only team in the field that made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament this past season.
2022 Cancun Challenge matchups, per release:
Auburn/Bradley
Northwestern/Liberty— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 7, 2022
Auburn will likely come into next season ranked in the top 25. Bruce Pearl is assembling an elite roster even without the likes of [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] and [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag], who both declared for the NBA draft. A nice core of veterans and role players should carry the Tigers to a good season once again in 2022. Participating in the Cancun Classic could increase their resume and help some of the new faces get a “tournament-like” feel.
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