Appalachian St. @ Auburn preview
Auburn Arena
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl can only hope his team's final game before beginning Southeastern Conference play goes as well as the most recent one did.
The Tigers, who will host the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Tuesday, played "probably as good of a first half as I can remember" as they routed Troy 77-41 on Saturday.
Auburn (5-2) shot 75 percent from the floor in the first half, held Troy to 23.5 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers in building a 43-10 halftime lead.
"We were firing on all cylinders. Every offensive possession was clean, and it looked like we knew what we were doing. Defensively, we were disruptive," Pearl said.
The Tigers were the preseason pick to finish seventh in the 14-team SEC, and Pearl is counting on depth.
Auburn has six players averaging at least seven points per game, led by Justin Powell at 14.6. An early season conference Freshman of the Week winner, Powell also leads with 6.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
Sophomores Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams are at 13.9 and 10.1 points per game respectively for Auburn, which is shooting 44.6 percent from the field, including 31.6 percent on 3-point attempts.
The Tigers have won four straight since back-to-back losses in late November, including a rout at the hands of No. 1 Gonzaga.
The Mountaineers (6-2), picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt Conference, are coming off two easy wins, albeit against Division III and NAIA schools. Before that success, they were on the other side of a blowout, losing to then No. 10 Tennessee 79-38.
Those games came in a four-day span that concluded with the wins on Thursday against Greensboro and Friday against Columbia International.
The Mountaineers have been playing without preseason first team all-Sun Belt selection Justin Forrest, who was injured in Appalachian State's win over Charlotte on Dec. 11 and has been in the concussion protocol.
Forrest collided with two defenders on a drive to the basket and fell headfirst to the floor. The senior, who averaged double digits in points in his first three seasons, including 17.3 last season, was off to a slow start through five games, at 4.8 points.
Coach Dustin Kerns said late last week that Forrest "has done some light shooting" as he progresses through the protocol, and a member of the school's media relations team termed Forrest as questionable for Tuesday.
Appalachian State has received a lift from James Madison transfer Deshon Parker, who initially had his eligibility waiver denied, but then granted last week as the NCAA issued a blanket waiver on transfers' eligibility.
Parker, a guard, averaged 10 points and four assists per game last season for the Dukes. He made his Mountaineers debut Thursday and finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in 19 minutes.
"We're (in) late December, and it's hard to just all of a sudden pick up and just find out you're playing, and play," Kerns said. "Even though he's practiced, it's different."
The Mountaineers are shooting 43.9 percent per game from the floor and 30.8 percent from long range. Their leading scorers are bunched together: Adrian Delph (12.4), Donovan Gregory (11.5) and Kendall Lewis (10.6).
--Field Level Media