Auburn basketball is heading into a major test this weekend as the Tigers take on No. 6 Purdue in the Indy Classic on Saturday evening. The matchup, set in Indianapolis, has the feel of a true road game for Bruce Pearl’s squad-and it’s exactly the kind of measuring stick game that can shape a season.
At 8-3 and ranked No. 21 in the latest AP poll, Auburn has shown flashes of high-level play, especially in wins over ranked opponents like St. John’s and NC State.
But Purdue is a different kind of beast. The Boilermakers enter the weekend at 10-1, armed with one of the most efficient and well-balanced offenses in the country.
“They’re the No. 1-rated offense in college basketball,” Pearl said Thursday. “We’ve played three of the top seven-ranked offenses already-Michigan, Arizona, and now Purdue.
They’re 13th in rebounding margin, fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio. They’re elite in a lot of ways.”
Pearl knows the environment in Indianapolis will be anything but neutral. “It’s basically a road game,” he added.
“But it’s a tremendous opportunity for us to go up against a team that a lot of people have pegged for the Final Four. It’s a chance for us to see where we’re at.”
The Tigers do have some recent history to lean on. Last season, they handled Purdue convincingly in Birmingham, winning 87-69 behind a suffocating defensive effort. Auburn held the Boilermakers to 39% shooting overall and just 35% from deep, while forcing 12 turnovers and racking up seven steals and six blocks.
But Pearl was quick to pump the brakes on any assumptions that last year’s blueprint will work again.
“You watch the film from last year and think, ‘That’s the recipe,’” he said. “But we’re not the same team.
That’s not the recipe anymore. We’ve got to be more creative.
We don’t have the same size, the same rim protection. So we’ve had to adjust.”
The Tigers have spent the week fine-tuning those adjustments. Pearl praised his team’s energy and focus in practice early in the week, saying Monday and Tuesday were strong days of preparation.
“They brought really good energy. They were locked in and engaged. And I thought we got better those first two days,” he said.
They’ll need to be sharp. Purdue is averaging 20.4 assists per game-eighth-best in the nation-and shooting a blistering 50.5% from the field. That kind of offensive rhythm puts enormous pressure on opposing defenses to stay disciplined and connected for all 40 minutes.
Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. ET, following the Northwestern vs.
Butler game. The action will stream live on Peacock.
For Auburn, this isn’t just a game-it’s a gut check. A chance to prove they belong in the national conversation, and a moment to see how their evolving identity stacks up against one of the sport’s most complete teams.