AUBURN | There were mixed returns from Auburn’s trip to Mexico last week. The Tigers hung on to beat a talented Texas Tech team Tuesday but then got blown out in the second half against No. 17 Purdue in Wednesday’s championship game of the Cancun Challenge.
The Tigers enter this Tuesday night’s game against USC Upstate 4-1 on the season.
“We’ve made some progress,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do yet still. We’re excited about being back from a couple of days of Thanksgiving break and getting back to the grind.”
Pearl said he's challenged his guards to play better defense after the Boilermakers made 17-of-26 3-pointers in a 96-71 win.
“We tried to speed Purdue up and they were better going fast than we were,” Pearl said. “Their guards really stuck it to us, making 17 3’s. It was quite an onslaught.”
USC Upstate is 3-3 on the season with wins over Mars Hill, Charleston Southern and Charlotte, and losses to Georgetown, UNC Asheville and College of Charleston.
Sophomore guard Mike Cunningham leads the Spartans averaging 13.7 points per game. He’s shooting 49 percent from 3-point range. Seven-foot center Michael Buchanan averages 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.
“Upstate scored 108 in overtime in a victory over Charlotte. They won at Charleston Southern,” Pearl said. “They return four starters. They return a 7-footer that comes off the bench and has had 20-plus the last couple of games and is a load on the inside. They can score. They’re an exciting team and Coach (Eddie) Payne does an outstanding job with them.
“What I would anticipate is it’ll be up-tempo, exciting game. The games they’ve lost, they’ve been guarded and didn’t score as well as they wanted so defense will be important, transition defense will be important for us. It was one of the things that bothered us in Cancun.”
Auburn is led by redshirt freshman Danjel Purifoy averaging 16.4 points per game and true freshman Mustapha Heron averaging 14.8 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds.
Tip-off at the Auburn Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be carried on SECN+ and WatchESPN.
