AUBURN – Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl believes in playing a competitive non-conference schedule, and the Tigers will do that this season.
Auburn will play six opponents from Power Five conferences, which is the most in program history. The Tigers previously took on five in the 2016-2017 season.
“When you set up your non-conference schedule, you send a message to your players and to your fanbase how good you think you will be,” Pearl said. “I don’t try to do it that way. We try to compete for championships and we’ve won three in the last six years. This non-conference schedule will get us ready for what’s going to be the most competitive SEC since I’ve been at Auburn.”
The Tigers will take on the Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks in an exhibition at home inside Neville Arena on November 1.
Auburn officially opens up the season against the Baylor Bears in Sioux Falls, S.D., on November 7. The Bears are one of four teams on the Tigers' non-conference schedule who made the NCAA Tournament last season.
Auburn will host Southeastern Louisiana Lions on November 10 before heading to New York City for the Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Tigers will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 16 and either the Oklahoma State Cowboys or Saint Bonaventure Bonnies on November 17.
The Tigers return home for a contest with Alabama A&M on November 21 before getting a week of rest. Auburn drew the Virginia Tech Hokies in the inaugural ACC/SEC challenge. The matchup will take place inside Neville Arena on November 29.
Auburn's first true road game of the year takes place on December 3 when the Tigers travel to Boone, N.C., to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
The Tigers return to Holiday Hoopsgiving for the fourth-straight year. This time the opponent is the Indiana Hoosiers. That game takes place on December 9.
The Rocket City Classic in Huntsville will feature a matchup between Auburn and the UNC Nashville Bulldogs on December 13.
The second installment of the home-and-home between Auburn and the USC Trojans is set for December 17 at Neville Arena.
“USC is a preseason Top 10 team that will come into Neville Arena with a very talented roster,” Pearl said. “To have a program like USC travel to Auburn for basketball is comparable to USC coming into Jordan-Hare Stadium and how good its program has been historically in football. USC has one of those kind of basketball programs now.”
The remaining non-conference games include the Alabama State Hornets on December 22, the Chattanooga Mocs on December 30 and the Penn Quakers on January 2.
Auburn's SEC schedule will be released at some point in September.
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