After a long offseason stained by the disappointment of missing out on the 2026 NCAA Tournament, the Auburn Tigers are finally gearing up to begin what they would like to be a rebound season, and that will start on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana.
The Tigers enter this matchup as nearly a 30-point favorite, with ESPN projecting Steven Pearl's squad to have a 98.3% chance to win. However, Tiger fans have not forgotten about the Bethune-Cookman game to lead off last season, and making a strong first impression may end up being crucial for the culture of the program this year.
Granted, this game will not have the prestige of some of the games to follow-Arizona, Tennessee, Texas and Alabama come to mind-but early-season matchups are all about building the foundation to be successful in those games.
So, what aspects of Auburn's foundation will be worth keeping an eye on? Let's break it down.
The Tigers struggled immensely in the frontcourt last season after the loss of Emeka Oporum, who was the lone 7-footer on the roster. Oporum played just six games for the Tigers and, especially against more physical opponents, his loss was felt significantly.
The Tigers, in something of a response to that issue, added two 7-footers to the roster this season: 7-foot-1 Santa Clara transfer Bukky Oboye and 7-foot overseas newcomer Narcisse Ngoy, who was both the MVP and DPOY of the French Elite 2 league last year.
The pair got off to a bit of a rough start this preseason but seemed to find their stride as time went on, and we'll get our first look at them in a regular-season scenario on Wednesday. Southeastern Louisiana's biggest challenger will be 6-foot-10 center Daniel Akoue, a sophomore who averaged just 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds last season.
The Tigers returned just three players from last year's roster: Tahaad Pettiford, Kevin Overton and Blake Muschalek. Muschalek will certainly find his minutes throughout the game and season, but the production of Pettiford and Overton will be something to monitor, as the pair have proven to be one of the strongest guard duos in the SEC when firing on all cylinders.
Overton spoke in depth about his relationship with Pettiford during the offseason and was clear that he is expecting big things from him and his teammate this season. There's a bit of added pressure for Overton to show out this season, as he is in his final year of eligibility.
For Pettiford, it's never too soon to hit the NBA Draft, and a big season from the duo could see the Tigers looking for new guard production next season. For now, though, they'll need to get off on the right foot against heavy underdogs like Southeastern Louisiana before more big-time matchups later in the year.
The Tigers looked like two completely different teams when comparing their matchups with Florida State and Samford to their matchup with Alabama, as it seemed the group did not play particularly aggressively against the first two, while playing just a bit too aggressively against Alabama.
The sweet spot for this team likely lies somewhere in the middle, and matchups like their tip-off against the Lions are a great spot to fine-tune that level of play. If the Tigers can get that effort level dialed in early, they'll be hard to stop as the season rolls on.
A low-aggression game from the Tigers, though, could see the matchup ending up being quite a bit closer than many would be comfortable with, especially this early in the season.
Sign up for our free Auburn Tigers newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Three Things to Watch As Auburn Tips Off Basketball Season Against Southeastern Louisiana .
