2019–20 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach was Bruce Pearl in his sixth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 25–6, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019–20 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
Legends Classic champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 20
2019–20 record	25–6 (12–6 SEC)
Head coach	Bruce Pearl (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Ira Bowman (2nd season) Wes Flanigan (2nd season) Steven Pearl (3rd season)
Home arena	Auburn Arena

2019–20 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Kentucky	15	–	3		.833			25	–	6		.806
No. 20 Auburn	12	–	6		.667			25	–	6		.806
LSU	12	–	6		.667			21	–	10		.677
Mississippi State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	11		.645
Florida	11	–	7		.611			19	–	12		.613
South Carolina	10	–	8		.556			18	–	13		.581
Texas A&M	10	–	8		.556			16	–	14		.533
Tennessee	9	–	9		.500			17	–	14		.548
Alabama	8	–	10		.444			16	–	15		.516
Arkansas	7	–	11		.389			20	–	12		.625
Missouri	7	–	11		.389			15	–	16		.484
Ole Miss	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
Georgia	5	–	13		.278			16	–	16		.500
Vanderbilt	3	–	15		.167			11	–	21		.344
As of August 14, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll NOTE: The 2020 SEC Tournament was canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2018–19 season 30–10, 11–7 in SEC play. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament, the Tigers defeated Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee to win the tournament championship. It was Auburn's second SEC Tournament championship and first since 1985. The Tigers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. There, they defeated New Mexico State and Kansas to advance to the team first Sweet Sixteen since 2003. In the Sweet Sixteen, they defeated No. 1-seeded North Carolina to advance to the Elite Eight. There they defeated No. 2 seed Kentucky to advance to the program's first Final Four. In the Final Four, they suffered a controversial loss to eventual national champion Virginia.

Offseason

Departures

Auburn lost seniors Cole Blackstock, Bryce Brown, Malik Dunbar, and Horace Spencer to graduation. In addition, Jared Harper and Chuma Okeke declared for the NBA Draft. The Orlando Magic picked Okeke as the 16th draft choice, making him the first Auburn player to be drafted since 2001. Harper signed with the Phoenix Suns, Brown with the Sacramento Kings, and Dunbar with the Golden State Warriors. Spencer signed with Argentine club Atenas de Cordoba.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Cole Blackstock	41	F	6'9"	260	Senior	Killen, AL	Graduated
Bryce Brown	2	G	6'3"	198	Senior	Stone Mountain, GA	Graduated
Malik Dunbar	4	G/F	6'6"	230	Senior	North Augusta, SC	Graduated
Jared Harper	1	G	5'11"	175	Junior	Mableton, GA	Play professionally
Chuma Okeke	5	F	6'8"	230	Sophomore	Atlanta, GA	Declared for the NBA Draft; selected 16th overall by the Orlando Magic.
Horace Spencer	0	F	6'8"	225	Senior	Philadelphia, PA	Graduated

2019 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Babatunde Akingbola PF	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern (GA)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jan 11, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 75
Devan Cambridge F	Athens, TN	Hillcrest Prep School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jul 17, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Allen Flanigan F	Little Rock, AR	Parkview Magnet High	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 15, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 81
Javon Franklin SF	Goodman, MS	Goodman Community College	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 31, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Tyrell Jones G	Orlando, FL	West Oaks Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 21, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 82
Isaac Okoro SF	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 21, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 88
Jaylin Williams F	Nahunta, GA	Brantley County High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Nov 15, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 15  247Sports: 20  ESPN: 21
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Auburn 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019. "2019 Auburn Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.

2020 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Justin Powell SG	Louisville, KY	North Oldham (KY)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jun 7, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Sharife Cooper PG	Marietta, GA	McEachern (GA)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sep 27, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: #11  247Sports: #8  ESPN: #9
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Auburn 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019. "2020 Auburn Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on October 15, 2019.[1]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team
1	Kentucky
2	Florida
3	LSU
4	Auburn
5	Tennessee
6	Alabama
7	Mississippi State
8	Ole Miss
9	Georgia
10	South Carolina
11	Arkansas
12	Texas A&M
13	Missouri
14	Vanderbilt

Roster

2019–20 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Tyrell Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr West Oaks Academy Chicago, IL G 1 Jamal Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Memphis Birmingham, AL F 2 Jaylin Williams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Brantley County Nahunta, GA F 3 Danjel Purifoy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Hargrave Military Academy Centerville, AL F 4 Javon Franklin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS So Holmes CC Little Rock, AR G 5 J'Von McCormick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Lee College New Orleans, LA G 10 Samir Doughty 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr VCU Philadelphia, PA G 12 Lior Berman (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Mountain Brook Birmingham, AL C 13 Babatunde Akingbola 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 236 lb (107 kg) Fr McEachern Ogun, Nigeria G 14 Preston Cook (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Auburn Auburn, AL F 20 Myles Parker (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Madison Academy Madison, AL G 21 Will Macoy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Vestavia Hills Birmingham, AL G 22 Allen Flanigan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Parkview Magnet Little Rock, AR F 23 Isaac Okoro 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr McEachern Powder Springs, GA F 24 Anfernee McLemore 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Worth County Warwick, GA G 33 Chase Maasdorp (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So The Out-of-Door Academy Lakewood Ranch, FL G 35 Devan Cambridge 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Hillcrest Prep Nashville, TN C 50 Austin Wiley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Spain Park Hoover, AL F 54 Thomas Collier (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Briarwood Christian Birmingham, AL	Head coach Bruce Pearl (Boston College) Assistant coach(es) Ira Bowman (Pennsylvania) Wes Flanigan (Auburn) Steven Pearl (Tennessee) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 7, 2019

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2019* 8:00 pm	No. 24	Eckerd	W 97–53	–	20 – McCormick	10 – Wiley	5 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
Regular season
November 5, 2019* 8:00 pm, SECN	No. 24	Georgia Southern	W 83–74	1–0	20 – Doughty	9 – Wiley	4 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (8,702) Auburn, AL
November 8, 2019* 5:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 24	vs. Davidson Veterans Classic	W 76–66	2–0	17 – Okoro	10 – Wiley	5 – McCormick	Alumni Hall (4,549) Annapolis, MD
November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	No. 22	at South Alabama	W 70–69	3–0	15 – Okoro	10 – Doughty	6 – Okoro	Mitchell Center (10,068) Mobile, AL
November 15, 2019* 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 22	Cal State Northridge Legends Classic campus-site game	W 116–70	4–0	33 – Doughty	9 – Wiley	16 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (8,389) Auburn, AL
November 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 19	Colgate Legends Classic campus-site game	W 91–62	5–0	20 – Doughty	10 – Wiley	8 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (7,522) Auburn, AL
November 25, 2019* 8:30 pm, ESPNews	No. 18	vs. New Mexico Legends Classic semifinals	W 84–59	6–0	19 – Doughty	13 – Wiley	6 – McCormick	Barclays Center (6,812) Brooklyn, NY
November 26, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 18	vs. Richmond Legends Classic championship	W 79–65	7–0	22 – Doughty	9 – Purifoy	6 – McCormick	Barclays Center (6,420) Brooklyn, NY
December 5, 2019* 8:00 pm, SECN	No. 14	Furman	W 81–78 ^OT	8–0	18 – Okoro	12 – Wiley	4 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (8,226) Auburn, AL
December 14, 2019* 3:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12	vs. Saint Louis Mike Slive Invitational	W 67–61	9–0	20 – McCormick	8 – Wiley	6 – McCormick	Legacy Arena (12,614) Birmingham, AL
December 19, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12	NC State	W 79–73	10–0	24 – Doughty	8 – Wiley	4 – Doughty	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
December 21, 2019* 5:00 pm, SECN	No. 12	Lehigh	W 74–51	11–0	18 – McCormick	15 – Wiley	4 – Tied	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
December 29, 2019* 3:00 pm, SECN	No. 8	Lipscomb	W 86–59	12–0	17 – Purifoy	11 – Wiley	7 – Doughty	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 4, 2020 3:30 pm, SECN	No. 8	at Mississippi State	W 80–68	13–0 (1–0)	28 – McCormick	8 – Tied	4 – McCormick	Humphrey Coliseum (8,447) Starkville, MS
January 8, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN	No. 5	Vanderbilt	W 83–79	14–0 (2–0)	23 – Okoro	12 – Wiley	3 – Okoro	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 11, 2020 11:00 am, ESPNews	No. 5	Georgia	W 82–60	15–0 (3–0)	17 – Doughty	8 – Purifoy	4 – Doughty	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 15, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 4	at Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball	L 64–83	15–1 (3–1)	13 – Okoro	13 – Wiley	3 – Tied	Coleman Coliseum (14,474) Tuscaloosa, AL
January 18, 2020 12:30 pm, CBS	No. 4	at Florida	L 47–69	15–2 (3–2)	10 – Purifoy	6 – Wiley	2 – Tied	O'Connell Center (10,756) Gainesville, FL
January 22, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 16	South Carolina	W 80–67	16–2 (4–2)	26 – Cambridge	8 – Wiley	7 – Okoro	Auburn Arena (8,430) Auburn, AL
January 25, 2020* 11:00 am, ESPNU	No. 16	Iowa State Big 12/SEC Challenge	W 80–76	17–2	19 – Okoro	9 – Wiley	5 – Doughty	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 28, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 17	at Ole Miss	W 83–82 ^2OT	18–2 (5–2)	19 – McLemore	9 – Tied	3 – Tied	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,125) Oxford, MS
February 1, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN	No. 17	No. 13 Kentucky ESPN College GameDay	W 75–66	19–2 (6–2)	23 – Doughty	10 – Wiley	4 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 4, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 11	at Arkansas	W 79–76 ^OT	20–2 (7–2)	23 – Doughty	10 – McLemore	3 – Tied	Bud Walton Arena (17,196) Fayetteville, AR
February 8, 2020 11:00 am, ESPN	No. 11	No. 18 LSU	W 91–90 ^OT	21–2 (8–2)	26 – Doughty	13 – Wiley	9 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 12, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball	W 95–91 ^OT	22–2 (9–2)	19 – Okoro	17 – Wiley	5 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 15, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	at Missouri	L 73–85	22–3 (9–3)	22 – Wiley	10 – Wiley	4 – Doughty	Mizzou Arena (12,506) Columbia, MO
February 19, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 13	at Georgia	L 55–65	22–4 (9–4)	22 – McCormick	9 – Wiley	3 – Doughty	Stegeman Coliseum (10,181) Athens, GA
February 22, 2020 11:00 am, CBS	No. 13	Tennessee	W 73–66	23–4 (10–4)	22 – Doughty	7 – Wiley	4 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 25, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 15	Ole Miss	W 67–58	24–4 (11–4)	15 – Wiley	11 – Wiley	4 – Doughty	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 29, 2020 2:45 pm, CBS	No. 15	at No. 8 Kentucky	L 66–73	24–5 (11–5)	13 – McCormick	12 – Wiley	5 – Doughty	Rupp Arena (20,638) Lexington, KY
March 4, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 17	Texas A&M	L 75–78	24–6 (11–6)	25 – Doughty	5 – Tied	10 – McCormick	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
March 7, 2020 11:00 am, ESPN2	No. 17	at Tennessee	W 85–63	25–6 (12–6)	32 – Doughty	9 – Wiley	3 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,156) Knoxville, TN
SEC Tournament
March 13, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN	(2) No. 20	vs. Quarterfinals	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2]					Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

[3]

Rankings

See also: 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	24	22	19	18	14	12	12	8	8	5	4	16	17	11	11	13	15	17	20	20
Coaches	23	23*	18	17	13	10	9	8	7	5	4	16	16	10	11	12	15	15-T	17	20

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Awards and honors

Samir Doughty

• Coaches' First Team All-SEC[4]
• AP Second Team All-SEC[5]

Isaac Okoro

• Coaches' Second Team All-SEC[4]
• Coaches' SEC All-Freshman Team[4]
• Coaches' SEC All-Defensive Team[4]

Austin Wiley

• Preseason Coaches' Second Team All-SEC[6]
• Legends Classic MVP[7]

References

1. "UK picked to win 2020 SEC Men's Basketball Championship". SEC Sports. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
2. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2020-sec-tournament-canceled-thursday-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-concerns/live/
3. https://auburntigers.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=437
4. "SEC announces 2020 Men's Basketball Awards". www.secsports.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
5. "Mississippi State's Perry, Arkansas' Jones share SEC honors". AP NEWS. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
6. "2020 SEC Men's Basketball Preseason Teams announced". Southeastern Conference. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
7. "AUBURN CAPTURES ROMAN LEGENDS CLASSIC PRESENTED BY OLD TRAPPER". www.gazellegroup.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.