Tahj Shamsid-Deen
Auburn point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen shoots against Mississippi State during a 2014 game. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
(JULIE BENNETT)
Auburn's non-conference schedule in Bruce Pearl's second season will include games against as many as seven programs that appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Auburn announced its non-conference slate for the 2015-16 season Wednesday.
The Tigers open the season against UAB, which begins a four-game homestand against Colorado, Georgia Southern and Northwestern State.
The Tigers will travel to Coastal Carolina (Dec. 2) to face former Auburn coach Cliff Ellis' team, which reached the NCAA Tournament last season, and face Middle Tennessee (Dec. 12) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
"In the non-conference, you get to send your team a message, and that is whether you believe in them or not," Pearl said in a news release. "If you schedule soft, and you are not willing to travel, you send them a message that I don't think we are very good, and we need to play the soft schedule, and I'm not doing it. I didn't do it last year and as a result, we were 8-5 in non-conference, and that is just not good enough to get it done."
Auburn is also scheduled to host Mercer (Dec. 15) before hitting the road to face Xavier (Dec. 19), a mere three days before opening play at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Tigers' potential opponents include Oklahoma, Northern Iowa, Harvard, BYU, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington State. Matchups will be announced at a later date.
Auburn will also host Oklahoma State in a rare game in the middle of the SEC season. The game is part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 30.
Auburn and UAB agreed in May to play a four-game series.
The series will include two games in Birmingham, though one will be held off campus. The Blazers will host Auburn during the 2016-17 season at Bartow Arena. The teams will meet at Legacy Arena (BJCC) in downtown Birmingham in the 2018-19 season.
The teams have met 17 times, but this will mark the first meeting since 1999. UAB holds a 10-7 record (Auburn also forfeited a game in 1994) in the series.
"Bringing back the rivalry with UAB, folks say you have everything to lose and nothing to gain, and I disagree with that," Pearl said in a news release. "UAB has the edge in the series. They were in the NCAA Tournament last year, and we weren't in any tournament last year. They bring most of their team back, and I bring five of my guys back. We are up against it, but it is a great opportunity."
Auburn's 2015-16 non-conference schedule
Nov. 13 UAB
Nov. 17 Colorado
Nov. 20 Georgia Southern
Nov. 27 Northwestern State
Dec. 2 at Coastal Carolina
Dec. 12 (1) at Middle Tennessee State
Dec. 15 Mercer
Dec. 19 at Xavier
Dec. 22, 23, 25 (2) Diamond Head Classic
Jan. 30 (3) Oklahoma State
(1) Nashville, Tenn. (Bridgestone Arena)
(2) Honolulu, Hawaii (Stan Sheriff Center)
(3) Big 12/SEC Challenge (Auburn, Ala.)