Breaking down the Tigers’ 2019-20 non-conference schedule

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This story was originally published on SoutheastHoops.com

Auburn basketball has released its complete 2019-20 non-conference schedule, which includes games against South Alabama, NC State, Lehigh, and others.

Bruce Pearl’s team will host Eckerd for an exhibition game before tipping off their official non-conference state.

Here’s a look at the full list of opponents.

Nov. 5 – vs. Georgia Southern

Last season: 21-12

Tookie Brown led the charge for the Eagles last season, averaging 17.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. Brown graduated and earned himself an overseas contract, but the Eagles still return some production from last year’s team.

Quan Jackson will return for his junior season after averaging 14.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game last season. 

The Eagles also lose a physically-imposing piece of their roster, as 7-footer Tyshaun Crawford is transferring out of the program.

Nov.8 – vs. Davidson (Veterans Classic in Annapolis, MD)

Last season: 24-10

Davidson and VCU are widely considered to be the favorites in a much improved Atlantic 10 Conference.

Davidson brings back its six best players from last season, including Jon Axel Gudmundsson who averaged 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game last season en route to winning the A10’s Player of the Year award.

Kellan Grady, who was projected to win last year’s A10 Player of the Year award by many, also returns for his junior season after averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game last season.

All six of those returning players, including Gudmundsson and Grady, averaged over 22 minutes and over 5.4 points per game. 

Davidson looks like a great opponent for the Tigers and has even generated some top-25 buzz, with CBS ranking them as high as 22 in their preseason poll.

Nov. 12 – at South Alabama

Last season: 17-17

South Alabama could be Auburn’s only non-conference game with an in-state opponent, with no UAB game scheduled for this season.

South Alabama is entering its second season under head coach Richey Riley after going 17-17 in year one. The Jags return some key players and add a few transfers to their team, which should make them a much tougher opponent this go-around. 

Josh Ajayi will lead that group. As a junior, the 6-7 forward averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 44 percent from three and 56 percent from the field. 

Trhae Mitchell, a one-time teammate of Jared Harper at Pebblebrook High School, gives the Jags a versatile forward who averaged 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season. Mitchell shot 42 percent from three and blocked 2.1 shots per game.

In addition to the big men, South Alabama will bolster its roster with a few transfers who are eligible to play next season.

Don Coleman will be eligible for the Jags, a transfer who led Cal in scoring two years ago. Howard transfer Chad Lott also committed to the Jags after averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game last season. South Alabama also received a commitment from former Florida Gator Deaundrae Ballard, but Ballard must sit a year before becoming eligible.

South Alabama could be a sneaky game for the Tigers with where it’s situated, and this should be a much closer game than last season’s 101-58 blowout in Auburn. 

Nov. 15 – vs. Cal State Northridge (Legends Classic)

Last season: 13-21 

Despite a bad season overall, Cal State Northridge freshman Lamine Diane averaged a whopping 24.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season for Mark Gottfried’s Matadors. 

Rising junior Terrell Gomez comes up right behind him after averaging 19.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Darius Brown will return after averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game as a freshman last season.

Cal State Northridge returns some interesting pieces, and should be a tougher team than they were last season.

Nov. 18 – vs. Colgate (Legends Classic)

Last season: 24-11

Colgate nearly pulled off the impossible in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Tennessee, eventually falling to the Vols 77-70 following a 32-point explosion from Colgate guard Jordan Burns. 

Burns will return and looks like an early favorite to win the Patriot League’s Player of the Year award. 

Colgate returns its top five leading scorers from last season with Burns leading the pack. 

Rapolas Ivanauskas averaged 15.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for Colgate and showed his ability to stretch the floor as a 6-10 big man, shooting 43.4-percent from three on 2.8 attempts per game last season. Ivanauskas missed the Tennessee game due to a contact issue.

Colgate proved it could play on the big stage against big teams in last season’s NCAA tournament, and this will be a tough matchup for Auburn. 

Nov. 25 – vs. New Mexico (Legends Classic in Brooklyn, NY)

Last season: 14-18

New Mexico had a rough season last year and lost its highest scorer to graduation. 

However, the Lobos will add a few big-name transfers to their roster that could change their outlook quite a bit. 

JaQuan Lyle, a former Ohio State player who played for IMG in high school, will look to add a big boost to the team. Former Texas A&M guard, JJ Caldwell, will also suit up for the Lobos.

Former Jayhawk, Carlton Bragg Jr, will play his second year for New Mexico after starting in 21 games last season and starting five games in two years at Kansas. Bragg averaged 10.5 points and 8.8 rebounds last season.

Vance Jackson, who started his career at UConn, is another transfer in his second year at New Mexico. Jackson averaged 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Lobos last season.

Former New Mexico State Head coach Paul Weir will be looking to right the ship for a program that hasn’t won 20 or more games since 2013-14.

Nov. 26 vs. Richmond/Wisconsin (Legends Classic in Brooklyn, NY)

Richmond’s record last season: 14-20

Wisconsin’s record last season 23-11

Grant Golden will lead Richmond after averaging 17.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a sophomore last season. 

Another rising junior, Jacob Gilyard, averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game last year and will man Richmond’s backcourt while Golden and Nathan Cayo are the team’s rising juniors in the frontcourt. 

Gilyard and Golden will give Richmond a lot of options as a dynamic center-guard combo, but the Spiders could have some trouble with Wisconsin.

Wisconsin lost four-year vet Ethan Happ to graduation this offseason. Happ averaged 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game over his career, after averaging a double-double last season.

Despite losing Happ, the Badgers return their second, third and fourth leading scorers from last season and are only losing two players who averaged over five points a game.

D’mitrik Trice is one of those returners and the big-shot maker averaged 11.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season as a sophomore for the Badgers. 

Micah Potter will be eligible for the Badgers this season after playing and starting a few games during his freshman and sophomore years at Ohio State. 

Nate Reuvers could replace some of the production from Happ. Reuvers seems capable of putting up good numbers, after averaging 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game last season. He can also stretch the floor and shot 38-percent from three on 2.5 attempts per game last season. 

Reuvers started every game for the Badgers last season, but should garner a few more looks with the absence of Happ.

Brad Davison should also see an increased role. Davison is a do-it-all guard who is known for making big plays without the ball, such as drawing charges.

Wisconsin seems like the likely opponent for Auburn to draw in the second round of the Legends Classic.

Dec. 5 – vs. Furman

Last season: 25-8 

The Furman Paladins are coming off of a great 2018-19 campaign. They started the season off with a 15-2 record. Over those 17 games, Furman beat teams such as Villanova (ranked No. 6 when Furman beat them) and suffered two losses to LSU and ETSU. 

Furman was ranked in the top-25 for three weeks last season and eventually lost in the first round of the NIT.

The Paladins will lose one of their best players from last season, Matt Raferty, to graduation but return a good amount of production from last season.

One of those returnees will be senior guard Jordan Lyons, who averaged 16.2 points, 2.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game last season. 

Auburn fans have some experience watching players like Lyons after watching their own Bryce Brown light up the scoreboard on multiple occasions.

Lyons could be a similar player, as the undersized guard tied an NCAA game record with 15 threes made in a single game and made 101 three-pointers last season. 

Dec. 14 – vs. Saint Louis (Mike Slive Invitational in Birmingham, AL)

Last season: 23-13

Saint Louis is coming off of a strong 2018–19 campaign in which it increased its win total for the third straight year in head coach Travis Ford’s third year and made the NCAA Tournament.

Last season’s Saint Louis team was led by senior guard Javon Bess, a former Michigan State transfer, who averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists last season.

Bess was complimented by another senior guard, Tramaine Isabell, who started his career at Missouri.

Jordan Goodwin will return next season after averaging 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season

Godwin’s contribution during Saint Louis’s conference tournament run was a key part of his team making the NCAA Tournament as he had 16 points and 14 rebounds in the A-10 tournament championship.

Saint Louis will welcome EKU grad transfer Dujuanta “Tay” Weaver to the roster for next season. Weaver averaged 10.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists last season. 

Weaver is a small guard but averaged 7.9 three-point attempts per game last season and made 35.9-percent of those shots.

Dec. 19 – vs. NC State 

Last season: 24-12

Auburn had a somewhat aggravating trip to Raleigh last season and wound up losing by 78-71 to the Wolfpack. 

NC State loses senior guard Torin Dorn to graduation. Ian Steer, a freshman on last year’s team, transferred to St John’s. Former-incoming freshman Jalen Leaque went to the NBA directly out of high school, after spending an extra year in prep school, and signed with the Suns.

However, the Wolfpack return Braxton Beverly, Devon Daniels, C.J. Bryce and Markell Johnson to their backcourt and should be more than capable there. All four averaged more than 23 minutes, 9.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game last season.

Lehigh graduate transfer Pat Andree will play for NC State after averaging 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game at Lehigh last season and is a career 41.5-percent three-point shooter.

Jon Rothstein has Andree as a top-10 impact transfer in the ACC.

Former JUCO transfer DJ Funderburk, who signed with Ohio State out of high school, will help round out their frontcourt as a versatile big who averaged just under 20 minutes per game last season.

Danny Dixon is also transferring to NC State and is eligible immediately after averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for UMKC.

Dec. 21 – vs. Lehigh

Last season: 20-11

Last season’s Lehigh team was anchored by the senior-duo of Lance Tejada and Kyle Leufroy.

The team also loses Pat Andree as a grad transfer to NC State.

Lehigh will have trouble replacing their production, but the Hawks do return Jordan Cohen, a rising senior who averaged 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season.

Dec. 29 – vs. Lipscomb

Last season: 29-8 

Lipscomb won the Atlantic Sun and 29 games last season. 

The senior-combo of Garrison Matthews and Rob Marberry led the Bisons on that run, respectively averaging 20.8 points per game and 14.8 points per game.

Rising senior Kenny Cooper, who attended the same high school as Marberry, transferred to WKU and adds to the missing production after he averaged 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season. 

Head coach Casey Alexander, along with Lipscomb’s top three players, is also gone after accepting the head coaching job at Belmont in April.

Long-time head coach of the Alabama Huntsville Chargers, Lennie Acuff, will take Alexander’s place.

Former Ole Miss preferred walk-on Miles Miller also transferred to Lipscomb this past offseason. If a waiver is applied for and granted he could provide production next season.

Jan. 25 – vs. Iowa State (SEC/Big 12 Challenge)

Last season: 23-12

Auburn didn’t play Iowa State last season, but both teams participated in the Maui Invitational. 

Iowa State lost Marial Shayok and Talen Horton-Tucker from last year’s team, but rising sophomore Tyrese Haliburton has already become an early NBA Draft favorite. Haliburton is a versatile guard who could give the Cyclones first-round-level production.

Haliburton and Auburn’s Isaac Okoro should be a highly regarded matchup within this matchup as both players are already early-favorites of “NBA Draft Twitter.” 

A mock draft from SB Nation had Okoro at No. 15 and Haliburton at No. 25.

Steve Prohm has led the Cyclones to an NCAA tournament in three of his four seasons at Iowa State, earning a four-seed, a five-seed and a six-seed in those years.