Auburn basketball passed its first test on Wednesday but will quickly move on from it and shift their focus to their next opponent, No. 4 Houston.
Following No. 11 Auburn’s 94-43 win over Vermont on Wednesday, head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] shared that he was pleased with his defense’s ability to “guard without fouling” and his team’s overall execution against Vermont- a team that won the America East last season and has appeared in three-straight NCAA Tournaments.
However, he warned his team and fans alike that Auburn’s next opponent, Houston, will provide another set of challenges.
“Obviously, Saturday at Houston is going to be a completely different matchup. Different team, different size, athleticism, physicality, and so we are not celebrating this,” Pearl said Wednesday. “Don’t read into it too much, other than we shot it really well and played pretty hard.”
The Tigers shot 56% from the field on Wednesday, which included 16 made three-pointers. Defensively, Auburn exposed Vermont’s weakness of poor shooting by forcing the Catamounts to connect on just 26% of their attempted shots while creating 16 turnovers.
Houston defeated Jackson State in its season opener on Monday, 97-40. Four players reached double-figures in points, led by LJ Cryer’s 16. The Cougars also took down Texas A&M in a charity scrimmage before the season, 79-64. Houston and Auburn rank No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the KenPom following Wednesday’s action, and both spot top-five offenses and defenses ahead of the game.
Auburn will look to earn its first major win of the season on Saturday when it battles Houston at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
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