GREENVILLE | Thursday’s opening day of the NCAA Tournament featured seven upsets including No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s knocking off No. 2 seed Kentucky.

If No. 2 seed Auburn is to avoid a similar fate against No. 15 seed Jacksonville State Friday, they’ll have to defend the perimeter with tenacity.

The Gamecocks are one of the nation’s best from the outside making 9.3 3-pointers per game and shooting .388 from beyond the arc, which ranks fifth in the country.

“That's been the motto all week,” said Auburn guard Allen Flanigan. “At practice he's been stressing it over and over again, just getting up close, close-outs, making sure we arrive on the catch, hands up, and try to not let them shoot the ball.”

JSU is 21-10 on the season, winning the ASUN regular season championship. Senior All-Conference guard Darian Adams leads the team averaging 15.6 points per game. He also averages 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals.

“That's an old team. That's a hungry team. That's a talented team,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “They shoot the three ball really, really well. They've got step up-ability. They're great athletes.”

Senior guard Jalen Gibbs has made 73 3-pointers, junior guard Demaree King 84 and 6-foot-7 senior forward Kayne Henry 32. Brandon Huffman, a 6-foot-10 senior, anchors the inside averaging 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

The Tigers are 13-0 all-time against Jacksonville State and will enter the game more than a 15-point favorite. That will provide the underdog Gamecocks plenty of motivation going up against an in-state school.

Auburns comes in as SEC Champions and a team that spent three weeks at No. 1 this season.

“We're Auburn in the SEC in men's basketball. And we're regular season champions, and we're going to try to represent our conference and our university, and Jacksonville State's in the way. So we both have got great motivation,” said Pearl.

Tip-off at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C is scheduled for 11:40 a.m. CT on truTV.