The No. 2 Auburn Tigers return to Neville Arena on Tuesday to face the Georgia State Panthers in a tune-up game before Saturday’s showdown with No. 17 Purdue in Birmingham.
Is Auburn on upset watch? Or will the Tigers prevail convincingly? ESPN’s final forecast indicates that the latter is a firm possibility.
According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, Auburn has a 99.0% chance to beat Georgia State on Tuesday to improve its record to 9-1 in the waning days of its nonconference slate.
Tuesday’s game will feature two teams on the opposite side of the momentum spectrum. Auburn has won four of its last five games by 27.3 points. Georgia State, however, is 1-4 over its last five games, with its closest game being a four-point loss to crosstown rival Kennesaw State.
Auburn scores an average of 13 more points per game than Georgia State (87.4-74.3). Auburn also allows just under 13 fewer points than the visiting Panthers (65.7-78.0). Auburn has five players to average double-digits in points per game while Georgia State has four.
The matchup to watch tonight is between Auburn forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and Georgia State forward Zarique Nutter. Both players lead their teams in scoring with 19.7 and 17.9 points respectively. Broome holds the advantage in field goal percentage with 55.8% compared to Nutter’s 48.2%.
According to NET standards, Georgia State is a quad-4 squad. Auburn is 2-0 against quad-4 teams this season, beating Vermont and Richmond by an average score of 47.5 points. Georgia State is 0-2 against SEC teams Mississippi State and Kentucky, which join Auburn as quad-1 teams. Georgia State allowed both opponents to score over 100 points while committing 35 total turnovers.
Auburn faces Georgia State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Click here for a preview and a broadcast guide to Tuesday’s game at Neville Arena.
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