No. 2 Auburn will put its six-game winning streak on the line when it squares off against league newcomer Texas on Tuesday in a Southeastern Conference game in Austin, Texas.
Auburn and Texas have not faced each other on the basketball court since Dec. 16, 1955, and have played just twice in history, splitting the two contests.
The Tigers (13-1, 1-0 SEC) have captured each of their past six wins by at least 16 points. Auburn beat Missouri 84-68 at home on Saturday in its league opener as Johni Broome scored 24 points to lead the Tigers. It was the 10th time this season that Broome, a potential Player of the Year candidate, has been Auburn’s leading scorer.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson scored 13 points apiece for Auburn in Saturday’s victory while Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford each added 10.
Tigers coach Bruce Pearl can move to the top of Auburn’s all-time wins list with a victory over one of the SEC’s newest members. Pearl earned his 213th coaching victory at Auburn on Saturday, tying him with Joel Eaves for the all-time lead at the school.
Pearl said his team can play better — and will have to on the road.
“There’s going to be certain matchups that bother us,” Pearl explained. “It doesn’t matter if we’re playing (the Longhorns) in Austin or playing them here. We’ve got 40 minutes of a basketball game against the University of Texas.
“I think we can play better on the road. You have to. You have to be sharper, you have to take better care of the ball. You can’t be as casual with your passes, you have to be locked in.”
The Longhorns (11-3, 0-1 SEC) jump from the frying pan into the fire as they return home on the heels of an 80-60 defeat at then-No. 13 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Texas’ first league game as a member of the SEC and first contest against the rival Aggies since 2019 ended up as a rude awakening and a bitter introduction to the quality of opponents in the SEC.
Tramon Mark led Texas with 14 points, with Arthur Kaluma adding 13, Jordan Pope 12 and star freshman Tre Johnson 11. Johnson went 2-of-13 from the floor in the game and the Longhorns made just 6 of 24 shots in the second half.
“We’re a very talented team,” Kaluma said. “We got very talented individuals. And at the end of the day, we’re just still piecing it all together.”
The game was tied at halftime and Texas was within 57-52 after a 9-1 run in the middle of the second half before the Aggies poured it on. The Longhorns had a four-game winning streak snapped.
“Texas A&M got to the basket, and we settled for some shots and didn’t make some shots, and gave them too many second-chance opportunities,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “You can’t do that (against) a good team on the road, in a good environment. So we’ve got to learn from it.”
Tuesday’s game is the second of a stretch in which the Longhorns play five straight teams ranked in the Top 25.
–Field Level Media
