Rapid Reaction to Auburn's Dominant 100-71 Exhibition Win Over Memphis

The Auburn Tigers picked up their first unofficial win of the preseason Thursday night at StateFarm Arena, defeating Memphis, 100-71 .

The Tigers looked like a completely different team in Atlanta than they did in their loss to Oklahoma State on Oct. 15, dominating on both ends of the court from the tip.

an AUBURN tiger dub🐅 pic.twitter.com/MGqkhSeHhR
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) October 31, 2025

Auburn started a different lineup than expected against Memphis, which isn’t unexpected in a preseason exhibition game. The Tigers’ starting lineup featured Kaden Magwood, Abdul Bashir, Kayshawn Hall, Sebastian Williams-Adams, and Filip Jovic, but still managed to shoot an impressive 53% from the field.

Let’s take a look at a few rapid takeaways just minutes after Auburn’s assuring victory over Memphis.

Defense Showed Vast Improvement

Auburn’s defense was one of the main concerns in its first exhibition matchup versus Oklahoma State, but that trend virtually flipped Thursday night.

The Tigers suffocated the Memphis offense from the jump, forcing 23 Memphis turnovers, including 17 in the first half. And not only did Auburn create havoc, it also capitalized on Memphis’ miscues, tallying 33 points off turnovers.

Steven Pearl mentioned in his press conference earlier this week how his team has been making strides on the defensive end, particularly close-outs and attention to detail, ever since the Oklahoma State loss, and that was evident. Auburn allowed 30 points in the paint, a solid improvement from 48 against the Cowboys two weeks ago, and held Memphis to 37% from the field.

Balanced Offensive Production

In its first exhibition game, Auburn essentially had a three-man show, with Tahaad Pettiford, Keyshawn Hall, and Elyjah Freeman leading the charge on the offensive end.

However, they were much more balanced against Memphis, as four Tigers – Magwood, Pettiford, Hall, and Jovic – notched double-figures. Auburn shot 30-for-57 (53%) from the field and 10-for-24 (42% from behind the arc, and seemed notably more efficient than its previous outing. Excluding C.J. Williams, who came in with three minutes remaining, every Auburn player scored, with Hall leading the Tigers with 20 points.

Auburn's second-leading scorer was Magwood, who totaled 15 points, and seven Tigers posting seven points or more.

New Team Continues to Mesh and Gel

Auburn boasts a brand new roster this season, as it brought in 10 new additions over the offseason and returns one player, Pettiford, from last year’s Final Four team. The Tigers experienced a considerable amount of obvious growing pains against Oklahoma State, but they appear to be meshing and gelling at the right time.

The Tigers look united, they play together, and each player seems to exert a respectable amount of effort on every possession. The depth looked significantly more reliable than it did versus the Cowboys in Birmingham, which will be crucial as Auburn enter its tough nonconference slate and brutal SEC gauntlet in January.

Overall, Auburn showed great improvement and undoubtedly took steps in the right direction, but similar to the last exhibition, be careful not to read too much into a preseason matchup. So while the Tigers looked promising, exhibitions aren’t always indicative of how a team will perform in the regular season.

Auburn will officially tip off the season on Monday, Nov. 3, against Bethune-Cookman at Neville Arena.