Auburn’s run of homecourt control gets a serious examination Friday night when No. 12 Arizona walks into Neville Arena.
The Tigers have turned nonconference games at home into a fortress. Auburn has won 69 straight against non-Southeastern Conference opponents on its own floor, the longest active streak in the country.
The last time a non-SEC team left Auburn with a win was Oklahoma State on Jan. 30, 2016.
The Tigers also bring the nation’s longest active Division I winning streak, at seven games, after taking the NIT last season.
So far this season, Auburn has handled Southeastern Louisiana and Appalachian State without much trouble. Arizona is a different level of test entirely, and it arrives as the highest-ranked nonleague opponent to play at Auburn since 2006.
The Wildcats are 2-1 after back-to-back home blowouts of Cal Poly and Northern Arizona, but their season started with a stumble. Arizona lost to UCLA in Las Vegas on opening night, the program’s first season-opening loss since 2006, and dropped out of the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since the start of last season.
Tommy Lloyd’s team still has a strong core from last year’s Final Four group. Center Motiejus Krivas and wing Ivan Kharchenkov are the two returning starters, and they’ve combined to average 42.7 points and 17.0 rebounds, with both players already posting a 30-point game. The rest of the roster is still settling in around them.
“I thought there was a lot of progress,” Lloyd said after a 90-59 win over Northern Arizona on Tuesday. “Just keep growing day to day. I think the most important thing in a season is understanding that the season's a continuum and, while you're in that continuum, you gotta make progress.”
Freshman Caleb Holt has given Arizona 15 points per game through his first three college outings, while North Carolina transfer Derek Dixon is averaging 13.
Auburn’s approach has been different, with Steven Pearl leaning hard into depth. The Tigers used 10 players for at least 12.5 minutes apiece in their first two games, and Pearl said he wants that pattern to continue.
“It’s crucial for us to be able to really buy into the depth that we have,” said Pearl, in his second season in charge of the program after being an assistant for his father, Bruce Pearl, for eight years.
“Guys coming in and having had a four-minute break, it makes a huge difference and it’s going to allow us to hopefully wear down a team over a 40-minute game. Our depth's gotta be our calling card. I feel confident in all 10 of these guys.”
The scoring has been less spread out for Auburn. Guard Tahaad Pettiford is leading the way at 22 points per game, while guard Kolby King is the only other Tiger in double figures at 10.5. Center Narcisse Ngoy is adding 8.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
Arizona has brought a disruptive edge on defense, piling up 25 steals over its last two games. In its most recent outing, the Wildcats had 26 assists and only six turnovers. Auburn, meanwhile, has opened the year shooting 40% from 3-point range.
Lloyd is in his sixth season at Arizona and recently hit 150 career wins. His nonconference road résumé includes victories at Duke, Illinois and UConn. And last season, Arizona had Auburn’s number in a big way, rolling to a 97-68 win in Tucson.
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Auburn Faces An Early Proving Ground Against Arizona
Arizona has steadied itself a bit since dropping its season opener to UCLA, following that loss with wins over Cal Poly and Northern Arizona. Now comes a much stiffer test. Auburn arrives unbeaten, and the matchup gives Arizona an early chance to measure itself against a team that has looked sharp through the first stretch of the season. For the Wildcats, it is the kind of game that can reveal a lot about where they stand before the schedule gets deeper.
The spotlight will be on how Arizona handles the physical and tactical demands of a high-level opponent, with Derek Dixon and Motiejus Krivas among the players whose impact could help shape the night. Arizona also needs more from its supporting cast, especially in the scoring department, if it wants to keep pace. JJ Mandaquit and Cameron Holmes are part of that equation, and how the Wildcats balance those contributions against Auburns depth will go a long way toward determining whether this becomes a statement opportunity or just another early-season lesson. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Title Hopes Already Face A Toughness Problem
Coming off a record-setting 2025-2026 run, Arizona entered the new season with the kind of expectations that usually come with a deep, talented roster and a coach who has built a contender. But the Wildcats also had to replace key players who moved on to the NBA, and the early returns have raised a different kind of concern than talent alone. Tommy Lloyd has already been talking about effort, defensive discipline and a team that looks a little less physical than the one that just finished making history.
The numbers have backed up the eye test, with Arizona giving up too many points and too many clean looks from beyond the arc. For a program that wants to stay in the title conversation, the issue is not just whether the Wildcats can score enough to keep pace. It is whether they can rediscover the edge, grit and toughness that tend to separate a good team from one that can survive the grind of a long season. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Faces An Early Gut Check In Its First True Road Test
Friday night brings Arizona its first real road exam of the season, and it comes against an Auburn team that has already made itself a difficult place to visit. Tommy Lloyds group has put together two home wins since the earlier loss to UCLA, but this trip will say more about where the Wildcats stand than anything they have done at McKale so far. It is also a useful measuring stick for Auburn in Steven Pearls second season, with the Tigers getting a major early opportunity against a ranked-style opponent in their own building.
For Arizona, the challenge starts with travel and quickly turns into matchups. The Wildcats will have to handle Auburns pace and pressure without losing the defensive edge that has steadied them after that UCLA setback, and they will need some help beyond the usual front-line production if they want to leave with a result. Bench minutes matter on nights like this, especially when a game starts to tighten and every possession feels like part of the test. [Read more 🡒]