Game Preview and Open Thread - Auburn vs Murray State

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Auburn is receiving votes in the AP Poll. In basketball. BASKETBALL.

Do you know how long it’s been since Auburn received votes in the actual basketball rankings?

2009.

Almost a decade ago.

Do you know how long it’s been since Auburn was actually ranked?

We came in at #24 in 2003 after beginning the season 15-2 and taking down what was then a top ten Alabama team at home. Then we lost three straight and fell out of the rankings. That year ended alright, though, with a Sweet Sixteen appearance and a one-point loss to the eventual national champions.

Now, Auburn’s got a chance to climb into the polls for the first time in nearly 15 years.

It begins with Murray State tonight up in Kentucky.

The Tigers took down Middle Tennessee, a consensus top-fifteen team in the RPI over the weekend, and now have three non-conference games left before SEC play begins.

The Racers come into tonight’s game at 7-2 overall under Matt McMahon, who’s in his third year after taking over for Steve Prohm. While Prohm won 31 games in his first season, 29 in his last, and never won less than 20, McMahon won 17 in year one, then 16, but now stands poised for a better year in the Ohio Valley Conference if they can finish the non-conference slate on the upswing.

Murray State’s led by Terrell Miller Jr. and Jonathan Stark, who both average north of 15 points per game, but the Racers’ schedule isn’t really all that impressive. The Tigers are the first Power conference team that they’ll play, and the only common opponent between Auburn’s schedule and theirs is Middle Tennessee. The Racers fell to the Blue Raiders back in November 72-67.

With Mustapha Heron back on the floor for Auburn, and a supporting cast that has spread the contributions around each night out during this winning streak, Auburn’s looking pretty solid at the moment. The Tigers rebound well, especially when considering the size of many of Auburn’s post players, and they’re ranked in the top 25 in the country for scoring at 86 points per game.

So, let’s see if Auburn can get to ten wins tonight or if the current seven-game winning streak comes to a close.

HOW TO WATCH AND LISTEN

TV: n/a

Radio: Auburn Sports Network