The Stretch 4: For Auburn, everything's bigger in Texas
The Tigers' first-ever trip to face the Longhorns will be a chance to get a true Quad 1 road win — which doesn't come easily in the slightest.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
AUBURN — When the new-look SEC basketball schedule was released several months ago, a lot of eyes for Auburn gravitated toward the Saturday home-and-home with Alabama, the potential No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with Tennessee, and the late-season trip to face Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
But, flying somewhat under the radar, there was Auburn’s SEC road opener: Texas.
The Tigers and the Longhorns will meet as conference opponents for the first time Tuesday night in Austin. The programs have faced each other only twice before — a 1911 Auburn win at home and a 1953 victory for Texas in Montgomery.
This long-awaited conference clash marks the beginning of a new chapter.
“We've had a lot of big games, and I think this one absolutely qualifies,” Bruce Pearl said Monday, a few hours before Auburn left the Plains for the Forty Acres. “It qualifies for both teams. This is a Quad 1 opportunity for us. Obviously, Texas is a household name in the world of intercollegiate athletics.
“Everything they do in Texas is big, and they do it pretty well.”
Heading into the season, Texas was a projected top-20 team. Things haven’t fully worked out as expected for the Longhorns, but some of that has been of their control.
Similar to the early-season slate for Missouri, the team Auburn beat Saturday to open SEC play, the caliber of opponents Rodney Terry’s team faced in November and December has to be considered. In fact, Texas finished 355th in the KenPom non-conference strength of schedule rating that we referenced in the conference opener preview — just a couple spots higher than their fellow Big 12 expats.
After notching another Quad 2 win on Saturday, Auburn will be seeking its seventh Quad 1 victory in eight tries against a Texas squad that is winless in only three Quad 1 games. It has also played just one current Quad 2 team.
But the lack of heavyweight bouts to this point for the Longhorns seems to be less of a schedule-maker’s intention, and more so a product of (bad?) luck.
Give Texas a little bit of credit. The pair of ACC matchups, facing Syracuse in Brooklyn and NC State in Raleigh, seemed like decent tests on preseason paper. And though Texas handled their business against both, those teams currently have a combined record of 14-14 — a far cry from “impressive win” territory.
Even winning the Legends Classic championship, a crown Auburn earned in 2023, came with a résumé letdown when Texas Tech was upset by Saint Joseph’s to prevent a hardwood Battle for the Chancellor’s Spurs for the title in Brooklyn.
Those Red Raiders currently sit at No. 21 in the NET rankings, one spot ahead of reigning, defending, undisputed, back-to-back champion UConn, who the Longhorns hosted in early December. Though that game resulted in an 11-point loss, the Texas offense responded to a slow start by mounting an impressive second half rally, shooting 13-of-24 and posting a 64% 3-point shooting clip in the final 20 minutes.
“UConn played great that night,” Pearl said. “That had been a big one for them, and for the league, if they could've gotten that one. So they're looking for a signature win. They're looking for one that they can hang their hat on.”
Yes, Texas has slid from preseason No. 18 in KenPom to No. 43, despite winning 11 of its 14 games so far. But the Longhorns’ other two losses — an opening 80-72 defeat to Ohio State in Las Vegas and a 20-point loss at rival Texas A&M last Saturday — were quite competitive until the final few minutes.
Auburn knows what to expect in the Moody Center on Tuesday night. On paper, the Longhorns are as experienced and as talented as almost anyone they’ll face all season. While they have several veterans playing key roles, this Texas team is also armed with a potential NBA Draft lottery pick straight out of the high school ranks.
“They have a really great roster,” center Dylan Cardwell said Monday. “And it's going to be really challenging, winning there at Texas.”
For a full breakdown of what to expect from Auburn’s first-ever trip to Texas, here is this week’s edition of The Stretch 4.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)