3 Things to Watch in Auburn's Exhibition Game vs. Memphis

The Auburn Tigers have one final tune-up game before officially starting the 2025-26 campaign tonight versus Memphis at StateFarm Arena, just a short drive up the road from campus.

First-year head coach Steven Pearl and company are coming off a 97-95 loss to Oklahoma State in Auburn’s first exhibition matchup on Oct. 15, but they look to rebound and take a step in the right direction against an extremely solid Memphis squad to claim a win before tipping off the regular season.

Auburn Tigers on SI takes a look at three things to watch for in the battle of the Tigers tonight in Atlanta.

The 5 Spot

Mississippi State transfer center KeShawn Murphy will be limited against Memphis after suffering a minor hip-flexor strain and a minor knee MCL sprain in Auburn’s clash with the Cowboys a couple of weeks ago. Murphy slipped due to a wet spot on the floor when trying to help Sebastian-Williams Adams up with under five minutes remaining in the game, and he wasn’t able to return.

However, according to Pearl, the injury “could’ve been a lot worse,” which is obviously great news for Auburn.

Pearl said he expects Murphy to play about 10 minutes, with other big men like Emeka Opurum and Filip Jovic gaining a significant amount of action at the five. Opurum played just one minute against Oklahoma State, but will likely see an increase due to Murphy’s injury.

Jovic, a former professional player from Serbia, totaled five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes in Auburn’s first exhibition, but spent a great portion of the game at the four. Jovic is only 6-foot-8, meaning the Tigers will be slightly undersized against Memphis’ bigs when he is at center, but it will be interesting to see how both he and Opurum handle the opportunity – especially considering Memphis’ starting center Aaron Bradshaw is 7-foot-1.

Who Steps Up Off the Bench?

The Tigers posted just 16 points off the bench in their loss to Oklahoma State, while the Cowboys tallied an impressive 36 bench points. Freshman forward Sebastian Williams-Adams recorded six points, and point guard Kaden Magwood tallied three points in addition to Jovic’s five.

In recent years under Bruce Pearl, Auburn has prided itself on having “no dropoff” between the starters and reserves, and many teams have gone eight to 10 players deep who can all legitimately either produce or contribute on the defensive end. This season, the Tigers appear to lack the elite quality of depth that they’ve had in the past.

Williams-Adams looked outstanding in his first game in an Auburn uniform, and Abdul Bashir, Magwood, and Jovic certainly have the potential to turn into reliable depth pieces for the Tigers. Nonetheless, if Auburn wishes to compete for another Final Four berth again this year, it needs to have a solid second rotation.

Defensive Improvement?

One of the main concerns that emerged from the Oklahoma State game was the many inefficiencies on the defensive end of the court.

Pearl revealed in his introductory press conference that Auburn’s offense is slightly ahead of its defense, which was apparent against the Cowboys, allowing 48 points in the paint. The Tigers allowed Oklahoma State to get to the basket much too easily in many instances, and it seemed like the defense struggled to stay in front of the man they were guarding.

Pearl says his team has been attacking these areas of struggle ever since Oct. 15, and he believes the test will only get tougher for Auburn’s perimeter defense.

“Memphis has got two or three guys on their roster that are noticeably quicker than anyone Oklahoma State had. So we’ve done a lot of work this week on our close-outs, on our stance, our attention to detail, being more in gaps,” Pearl said. “Since the 15th, we’ve had some really good practices and I think we’ve gotten better in those areas.”

Auburn and Memphis will tip off tonight at 7:30 p.m. CST inside StateFarm Arena and can be streamed on WarEagle+.