I can sense the excitement building so I decided to post earlier than I originally planned. Let's go Mason!
GMU is 0 - 1 all time against Auburn. We lost to the Tigers 79-63 on December 3, 2017.
Auburn was 28-6 (15-3) last season and lost to Miami in the second round of the NCAA tourney. This season the Tigers are picked to finish 4th in the SEC behind #11 Tennessee, #10 Arkansas, and #4 Kentucky. The majority of preseason polls (ESPN, CBS, AP, USA, SI) have the Tigers at #15 at the time of this posting. Earlier polls this fall had them ranked higher.
Schedule: https://auburntigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster: https://auburntigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Auburn was able to land Johni Broome through the transfer portal. The 6’10 transfer from Morehead State averaged 16.8 ppg and 10.5 reb last season to go along with 3.9 blocks per game. Broome was the Ohio Valley Defensive Player of the Year.
Joining Broome in the front-court is five-star freshman forward Yohan Traore. He’s a 6’10 big man with great athleticism. He’s an “offensive threat” and can “hold his own on defense” according to various pundits. 6’11 center Dylan Cardwell (3.0 ppg & 3.0 reb) will likely be the first big off the bench, giving Auburn a very big and talented front-court rotation.
The Tigers also return three guards in 6’1” Zep Jasper (5.1 ppg), 6’0” K.D. Johnson (12.3 ppg), and 5’10” Wendell Green (12.0 ppg & 5.1 assists). Four-star freshman point guard 6’2” Tre Donaldson also joins the backcourt. The question with the guards is shooting, as Jasper (35.2%), Johnson (38.6%), and Green (36.5%) all struggled from the field last year.
Auburn will have some competition on the wings between top-40 incoming freshman 6’6” Chance Westry and returning 6’6” Allen Flanigan (6.3 ppg). It should be noted that Westry had arthroscopic knee surgery in early October and might not be 100% on game day.
Auburn averaged 78.2 ppg while giving up 67.2 ppg last year. As a team they shot 43.5% from the field and 31.8% from 3. Opponents shot 38.6% from the field and 31.0% from 3. The Tigers shot 73.1% from the free throw line and averaged 12.1 turnovers per game.
The game is on SEC Network+.
My prediction: I watched them play all 3 games in Israel this summer and their defense was impressive. "The biggest takeaway for me is that we've got 12 good basketball players, maybe even 13," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We're going to put a good point guard out there. We're going to put a good 2 guard out there. I don't know who is going to start at the 3 or the 4 or the 5 because they all had their moments out there.”
Their front court will be an excellent test for Josh and our bigs. We’ll need to take care of the ball. My heart says Mason pulls off the upset, my head says we fall short. Auburn 76 - GMU 69.
Discuss.
GMU is 0 - 1 all time against Auburn. We lost to the Tigers 79-63 on December 3, 2017.
Auburn was 28-6 (15-3) last season and lost to Miami in the second round of the NCAA tourney. This season the Tigers are picked to finish 4th in the SEC behind #11 Tennessee, #10 Arkansas, and #4 Kentucky. The majority of preseason polls (ESPN, CBS, AP, USA, SI) have the Tigers at #15 at the time of this posting. Earlier polls this fall had them ranked higher.
Schedule: https://auburntigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster: https://auburntigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Auburn was able to land Johni Broome through the transfer portal. The 6’10 transfer from Morehead State averaged 16.8 ppg and 10.5 reb last season to go along with 3.9 blocks per game. Broome was the Ohio Valley Defensive Player of the Year.
Joining Broome in the front-court is five-star freshman forward Yohan Traore. He’s a 6’10 big man with great athleticism. He’s an “offensive threat” and can “hold his own on defense” according to various pundits. 6’11 center Dylan Cardwell (3.0 ppg & 3.0 reb) will likely be the first big off the bench, giving Auburn a very big and talented front-court rotation.
The Tigers also return three guards in 6’1” Zep Jasper (5.1 ppg), 6’0” K.D. Johnson (12.3 ppg), and 5’10” Wendell Green (12.0 ppg & 5.1 assists). Four-star freshman point guard 6’2” Tre Donaldson also joins the backcourt. The question with the guards is shooting, as Jasper (35.2%), Johnson (38.6%), and Green (36.5%) all struggled from the field last year.
Auburn will have some competition on the wings between top-40 incoming freshman 6’6” Chance Westry and returning 6’6” Allen Flanigan (6.3 ppg). It should be noted that Westry had arthroscopic knee surgery in early October and might not be 100% on game day.
Auburn averaged 78.2 ppg while giving up 67.2 ppg last year. As a team they shot 43.5% from the field and 31.8% from 3. Opponents shot 38.6% from the field and 31.0% from 3. The Tigers shot 73.1% from the free throw line and averaged 12.1 turnovers per game.
The game is on SEC Network+.
My prediction: I watched them play all 3 games in Israel this summer and their defense was impressive. "The biggest takeaway for me is that we've got 12 good basketball players, maybe even 13," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We're going to put a good point guard out there. We're going to put a good 2 guard out there. I don't know who is going to start at the 3 or the 4 or the 5 because they all had their moments out there.”
Their front court will be an excellent test for Josh and our bigs. We’ll need to take care of the ball. My heart says Mason pulls off the upset, my head says we fall short. Auburn 76 - GMU 69.
Discuss.
