Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
The West Virginia Mountaineers (12-8)will host the Auburn Tigers (16-4) Saturday in a SEC/Big 12 showdown Challenge. These two Power-5 schools have not met on the hardwood since 2007, when West Virginia won 88-59.
Auburn opened up the season going 10-2 in non-conference play with losses to Memphis and USC. In the SEC, Auburn is off to a 6-2 start. After winning five straight games, they lost to Texas A&M 79-63 on Wednesday. Auburn struggled for long range in the loss to the Aggies going just 3 for 16 from the floor on threes.
The Tigers are No. 24 according to KenPom, which has them as the fourth highest-rated team in the SEC behind Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas. The Tigers are 15th in adjusted defensive efficiency and 66th on offense. They are slated a little higher in the AP Top 25 rate 15th. If the season ended today, Auburn would be a No. 7 seed in the NCA Tournament according to Joe Lunardi.
Not our night. #WarEagle | @ChickfilA pic.twitter.com/1upf4LliCn
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) January 26, 2023
The Tigers are balanced, with 5'11 guard Wendell Green Jr. leading the team with 13.9 ppg, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, followed by 6'10 sophomore Johni Broome leads the team with 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, and is second with 13.3 ppg.