Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl recently stated the Tigers’ 2024-25 schedule is “by far the toughest schedule in Auburn Basketball history and probably in my 29 years of being a head coach.”
He may be right.
The Tigers open the season on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Neville Arena in Auburn against defending America East Conference champion and 2023-24 NCAA Tournament participant Vermont. It doesn’t get any easier from there.
Eleven of the Tigers’ opponents, including potential opponents in the Maui Invitational, were ranked in the final Associated Press (AP) Poll at the end of last season: No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 9 Duke, No. 20 Kentucky, No. 24 Dayton, and No. 25 South Carolina.
Auburn will open the 2024 Maui Invitational by facing Iowa State as part of ESPN’s Feast Week on Nov. 25-27 at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Maui, Hawai’i. The Tigers and Cyclones will square off in the afternoon section of the bracket on Monday, Nov. 25, at 4 p.m. local time/8 p.m. CT on ESPNU and will face either Dayton or North Carolina in the semifinals or consolation semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
“This year’s Maui Invitational is one of the strongest fields in tournament history,” said Dave Odom, Tournament Chairman and legendary collegiate coach.
The Tigers are making their second all-time appearance in the tournament after going 2-1 with wins over Xavier and Arizona in 2018.
Other neutral-site contests for the Tigers in 2024-25 include a matchup with defending Big 12 Conference regular-season champion and NCAA Sweet 16 participant Houston as part of The Battleground 2k tournament on Nov. 9 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Auburn will face NIT participant Ohio State as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving on Dec. 14 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and national runner-up Purdue on Dec. 21 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
The lone true road game on the Tigers’ non-conference schedule is a trip to Duke and historic Cameron Indoor Stadium for an SEC/ACC Challenge tilt on Dec. 6 in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils reached the NCAA Elite Eight last season.
“Part of scheduling is who wants or is willing to play you. Our success over the last eight seasons has really enabled us to be an attractive opponent to some of the best teams in the country. We are liable to see six or seven teams in the non-conference that could play in this year’s NCAA Final Four. It sends a statement to our players that I believe in them, and in the world of college basketball, we want to be a perennial Top 25 program. More than anybody, I am happy for our student-athletes that they get to play the very best in college basketball,” Pearl said. TG
Photos courtesy Auburn Athletics. For Auburn’s complete 2024-25 basketball schedule, please visit https://auburntigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule.
