AUBURN | No. 12 Auburn came out sluggish against Furman after a nine-day layoff. Nine days later, the Tigers are hoping to avoid the same slow start against Saint Louis.

A 14-point second-half deficit would probably be too much to overcome against the Billikens.

“They’re a very physical team. I think they’re the best team we’ve played this season,” said senior Anfernee McLemore. “We’ve just got to match their physicality. They’ve got one rebounding guard and one rebounding big and we’ve got to make sure we match their physicality and keep them off the boards and try to limit their second-chance points.”

The Tigers rallied to beat Furman 81-78 in overtime Dec. 5 and enter Saturday’s game 8-0 and one of just five undefeated teams. Saint Louis is also off to a great start at 8-1 with the only loss coming to Seton Hall.

“They're one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “They turn you over. They're ranked in steals, so they gamble. They jump passing lanes. They do a good job.

“Travis Ford is 2-0 against me. Both when he was at Oklahoma State, one time Tennessee in the NCAA tournament, first round game and once here in the Big 12 SEC Challenge. So he's done a good job against us, and he's an outstanding coach. So they'll have a good game plan, no doubt.”

The Billikens are 12th in the country averaging 14.1 offensive rebounds per game. Shooting guard Jordan Goodwin averages 15.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals while forward Hasahn French is averaging 14.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.

Saint Louis holds opponents to .387 field goal shooting.

Tip-off at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

“This is one of the best games in college basketball on a Saturday,” Pearl said. “I'm excited about coming up to Birmingham and playing in the arena, and I hope we can continue to continue — we’re going to have to play better against Saint Louis University than we did in our last few games to get this win.”