AUBURN, Ala. – Since 2019, Auburn has had six players taken in the NBA Draft. All six are natives of Atlanta or played high school basketball in Atlanta.
Next Game:
Memphis
Dec. 10, 2022
4 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"The coaching staff, they have solidified themselves in Atlanta, so they're able to roam like they own it in that aspect," said junior guard K.D. Johnson, another Atlanta product. "BP (Bruce Pearl) has gotten a lot of players from there."
In return, Pearl likes to play at least one neutral-site game in Atlanta every year and has had his Auburn team headline the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in each of the last two years. The Tigers are back in the event again this year and will face Memphis on Saturday.
"Atlanta has been great to us," Pearl said. "Part of my desire to support this tournament was to be able to continue to take our team to Atlanta. The crowds that have been at State Farm Arena have been impressive for Auburn, and recruits and their families take notice. Our players going back there, our Atlanta players particularly going home, will appreciate that."
It will be a homecoming for Johnson as well as Dylan Cardwell and Babatunde Akingbola who both played high school basketball in Atlanta. Seniors Zep Jasper and Jaylin Williams also call the Peach State home.
Johnson expects to have close to 100 family members and friends in attendance Saturday.
"It means the world to me," he said. "I finally get to go home and play where I'm from. That will be a fun experience seeing my whole family there."
The game itself is a rematch of two years ago when the two sides played in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event and Auburn won a back-and-forth affair 74-71. This year's Auburn team is ranked No. 11 and one of 10 unbeatens remaining in college basketball. Memphis is 7-2 with wins over Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Stanford and Ole Miss.
Tip off from State Farm Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will be televised on ESPN2 with Mike Morgan and Dane Bradshaw on the call.
PLAYER TO WATCH: K.D. JOHNSON
K.D. Johnson, who will return home to the Atlanta area for Saturday's game, is coming off a 16-point performance against Colgate last week where he scored 13 of the 16 points in the first half. It was his 42nd career game in double figures and the first time he had scored 10 or more points in the first since he had 12 points at Georgia last February. Johnson is currently third on the team with 10.5 points per game through Auburn's first eight games.
INSIDE THE SERIES: MEMPHIS
Auburn leads 2-0 in the all-time series with Memphis. The most recent victory came in the 2020 Holiday Hoopsgiving tournament where Auburn won 74-71 behind 26 points from Justin Powell and 16 points from Allen Flanigan. In the only other meeting between the two teams, Auburn won 78-64 on Memphis' home court on Jan. 2, 1953.
STILL UNBLEMISHED
Auburn is one of 10 unbeaten teams left in college basketball along with Houston, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Purdue, UConn, UNLV, Utah State and Virginia. The Tigers are No. 19 in the NET rankings released on Dec. 6.
STUDY BREAK
When Auburn takes the court Saturday, it will have been nine days since the Tigers last played and beat Colgate 93-66 at home – the longest stretch between games this season. The reason for the break? Finals. Bruce Pearl wanted to give his team the week off from playing games, so they could have plenty of time to study and focus on finals this week.