What Did We Learn From Auburn's 100-71 Thrashing of Memphis?

The Auburn Tigers absolutely throttled Memphis in Atlanta on Thursday, but one main overarching theme stood out as they cruised to a 100-71 victory.

Auburn could make another legitimate run in March.

Now, of course, it’s only October and the Tigers have played just two exhibition games thus far, but there were multiple aspects of their win that were extremely impressive and indicative of a squad that’s built to win when it matters.

Exhibition games aren’t worth overreacting to by any stretch, as they often don’t paint the full picture of a team’s real identity, but certain facets of Auburn’s performance undoubtedly looked promising.

One of the most prominent takeaways from Auburn’s loss to Oklahoma State in the first exhibition was lackluster defense, as the Cowboys were able to get to the basket at ease and post 48 points in the paint.

Head coach Steven Pearl said in his presser earlier this week that the team had been working on close-outs and the small details on the defensive end since Oct. 15, and that was evident on Thursday.

Mek said 🚫🚫 pic.twitter.com/Kcy2JheLaf
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) October 31, 2025

Auburn’s zone defense gave Memphis loads of trouble, as the Tigers forced 10 turnovers and 13 points off turnovers before the first media timeout. They finished the game with 33 points off 23 Memphis turnovers, illustrating Auburn’s ability to create havoc all night long.

“We started out in our zone defense, and I think it really threw them off guard, and we were just constantly changing defenses from man to zone,” Pearl said. “And there were a lot of possessions where they were running zone offense against our man-to-man, because we did such a good job. I thought being in gaps early in the game where it really disguises if we were in a zone. So credit to our guys for, you know, really locking into the scouting report.”

Additionally, Auburn’s dominant defense turned into productive offense, recording 19 fast-break points and shooting at a great clip throughout the entire 40 minutes. The Tigers shot 53% from the field and knocked down 10-of-24 from behind the arc, a vast improvement from their first exhibition.

The offensive attack was extremely balanced, as four Tigers finished in double-figures. Senior Keyshawn Hall led Auburn in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, with freshman Kaden Magwood totaling 15 points and Filip Jovic and Tahaad Pettiford finishing with 11 points each. Shooting guard Abdul Bashir and freshman forward Sebastian Williams-Adams both tallied nine points, and Elyjah Freeman posted eight.

a pure scorer 💯 pic.twitter.com/tDlT4LWIRA
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) October 31, 2025

In contrast to the Oklahoma State loss, when Hall, Pettiford, and Freeman stole the spotlight, the Tigers shared the basketball, created open shots for everyone, and produced efficiently.

Memphis was picked to win the American Conference in the preseason predicted order of finish, but there’s no legitimate way to measure how good Penny Hardaway’s Tigers are right now. However, even if Memphis disappoints in the regular season, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that Auburn once led by 36 over a solid, fairly talented squad. That margin is impressive against any team.

There’s a lot of basketball to play, but it’s evident that this team was assembled with a purpose. The Tigers returned just one player from last year’s Final Four roster, but their 10 new additions seem to be meshing and gelling nicely entering the regular season.

And as it makes its way through its historically brutal nonconference slate and tough SEC schedule, Auburn will only continue to improve and gain more familiarity with each other week in and week out.