Friday's matchup begins a new stretch and a new set of opportunities for this young Auburn basketball team.

They've been tested by Southern Indiana, learned about second half lulls against Morehead State and figured out what a slow start feels like against ULM, but they have yet to experience a road game.

Friday's road trip also takes Auburn to Amalie Arena in Tampa — home of the 2022 SEC Tournament.

"I think when it comes to scheduling, I think it’s important to play a couple of non-conference games on the road against good opponents," Bruce Pearl said. "The SEC Tournament is going to be down in south Florida and so we’re going to go down and get a chance to play on that floor against a Brian Gregory team that does a really nice job."

With an influx of transfers and freshman Jabari Smith in the mix, the on-court chemistry of the team remains a work in progress.

That will be on full display on the road in Tampa.

"I think there’s a combination of learning, for sure, but then opportunity," Pearl said. "They’re keeping score and like playing at South Florida, when you beat a good team on their home floor in their town, that’s worth the same as beating a great team at home because you get extra points for being on the road. So that’s part of the reason why there’s an incentive to do this. I know we’ll learn a lot. Probably more than anything we’re going to get exposed more than ever."

One of the issues that Pearl has seen in the summer and continues to see early on this year is communication. While the group has bonded well and become close friends, they still struggle to communicate with each other on the court.

Pearl knows that USF, UConn and the other Battle 4 Atlantis teams next week will take advantage of that.

"Good teams are able to expose us," Pearl said. "They’re going to expose the things that I know what are weak and that our opponent that scouts us knows are weak and their job is to expose them, to attack them. And so we’ll learn, but more than anything, we’re going to get exposed."

Friday's game at USF will tip at 6 p.m. CT and is available to stream on ESPN+.

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