After barely missing out on the NCAA Tournament last season, Coach Steven Pearl and Auburn Basketball is looking to avoid as many losses this time around. So far, so good for the Tigers, beating a pair of mid-majors without any issues. But the competition level rises to the top this week, hosting No. 12 Arizona on Friday night.
It’s a massive Quad 1 opportunity for the SEC team, taking on one of the best teams in the country. What can Auburn do to give Arizona its second loss of the season? Here are some keys to the game.
1. Someone other than Tahaad Pettiford having a big outing
As expected, Pettiford is the clear go-to guy for the Tigers, leading them with 22 ppg. It’s been a collective effort from everyone else, with nine players averaging between 4-10.5 ppg on the rest of the roster. Utah State transfer Kolby King (10.5 ppg) is the only other double-digit scorer in the first two games. It’s not a bad thing to have depth and multiple guys who can score but you can’t rely on Pettiford to do it all on offense. We’ll see who among the supporting cast can step up in what could be a shootout.
2. Defending Ivan Kharchenkov
Arguably the top individual performance of the early college basketball season was sophomore forward Kharchenkov going for a career-high 38 points on opening night against UCLA. He’s putting up 24.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 5.0 apg through three games and is on an All-American campaign. Who will Auburn put on him? If he plays at the four-spot, Thomas Dowd and Adam Olsen would get the assignments, which could be problematic. 6’5 freshman Caleb Williams could also play in a small-ball lineup if needed as well.
3. Collectively defending Motiejus Krivas
The other key player for Auburn to deal with is Krivas, putting up 18 ppg and 8.0 rpg through three games. The good news is that the Tigers have multiple bodies to throw at him. 7’0 center Narcisse Ngoy has been the starter, while Bukky Oboye is another big body to throw at him. Even Creighton transfer Owen Freeman is healthy and getting minutes. But whoever gets on the floor will need to slow him down in order to have a shot at the upset.
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