yourvalley_net
!role~Preview!mt~photo!fmt~JPEG%20Baseline)
As Steven Pearl enters his second year at the helm of Auburn basketball, he can rely on a tested backcourt featuring Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton. The return of both guards provides a stable foundation for the Tigers as they aim to rebound from a turbulent 2023-24 campaign.
Auburn struggled down the stretch last season, dropping eight of its final ten regular-season contests and ultimately missing the NCAA Tournament. Despite notable wins over Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, and Texas, the Tigers found themselves on the outside looking in. However, they salvaged the season by capturing the NIT championship in April.
Pearl faces the challenge of replacing Keyshawn Hall, who paced the team in both scoring (19.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.1 boards per game). The offense will now flow through Pettiford, who averaged 15.4 points and 3.8 assists as a sophomore. His 3-point shooting, which stood at 29% last season, remains an area for improvement.
Overton proved to be Auburn's most reliable performer, posting averages of 14.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals. He reached double figures in scoring 27 times and was honored as the NIT Tournament's most outstanding player. Additionally, he led the team in both 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
To bolster the frontcourt, the Tigers added 7-footers Narcisse Ngoy and Bukky Oboye, addressing an inside presence that was lacking last season. Ngoy, selected 57th overall in the June NBA draft, averaged 10.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in a second-tier French professional league. Oboye contributed 7.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game for Santa Clara last season.
Several players departed via the transfer portal: Hall, Elyjah Freeman (Texas), Filip Jovic (UCLA), and Sebastian Williams-Adams (Vanderbilt). Pearl largely tapped mid-major programs for replacements, bringing in Thomas Dowd (Troy), Owen Freeman (Creighton), George Kimball III (Vanderbilt), Oboye (Santa Clara), and Adam Olsen (South Alabama). Freeman, the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Iowa, saw limited action as a sophomore due to finger surgery and also missed time at Creighton last season.
The Tigers will face an early test when they host No. 5 Arizona on Nov. 13. They also meet West Virginia and either No. 17 Kansas or UNLV in Las Vegas, travel to Clemson, and take on Wisconsin in Nashville, Tennessee, in mid-December. SEC media picked Auburn to finish 10th in the league.
In Auburn's preseason scrimmage against Florida State, an 82-71 loss, Pettiford and Overton carried most of the load, combining for 30 points on 9-of-33 shooting, including 6 of 21 from beyond the arc. Auburn is aiming to become the first NIT champion to win the NCAA Tournament the following year.
Originally reported by yourvalley_net.