Neville Arena holds 9,121 people. No. 15 Auburn Tiger (1-0) basketball has had 24 consecutive games where there has been a capacity crowd of 9,121 people.
On Friday November 11 at 7:00pm, another 9,121 people will gather inside Neville Arena to watch Auburn play the University of South Florida Bulls (0-1.)
Auburn will be looking to improve off a 70-59 win over George Mason, in which Wendell Green Jr was your point leader scoring 16 total points.
The return of Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl and his team were a sight for sore eyes for many Auburn fans who have slugged through football season, which has seen blowouts and a ticket to the coaching carousel.
“A good win tonight,” Was how Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl described the game.
The game also saw Auburn fan favorite Dylan Cardwell set career highs in rebounds and blocks with nine and five respectfully.
"This is the best Dylan has played," Pearl said. "Dylan had pop, he was powerful, he was a factor at the rim, he got a lot of traffic rebounds. He moves about as well as anybody his size in college basketball. That's the key to his effectiveness."
USF has had a very different start to their season, the AAC team feel in front of its fans 64-61 to SEMO, due to a trilogy of threes in the final four minutes of the game.
The Bull’s leading points scorer was Keyshawn Bryant who finished with 19 total points, The South Carolina transfer sits at 992 points going into Neville Arena.
One thing this game is an opportunity for Auburn to improve its three-point shooting percentage from the .160% it is through one game. Even Bruce Pearl said, "When we start making those shots, we've got a chance to be pretty good.”
USF has been going through it, the Bulls finished 8-23 last year and haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2012.
As for the history between the teams, Auburn won last year 58-52, holds a 6-1 record over the Bulls.
This game is an invitation to 9,121 people to get loud, forget about the tough times for a little bit, and attempt to get on the jumbotron like Dylan Cardwell at Jordan-Hare on Saturdays.
Because no matter if this game becomes an ESPN classic, or just another November basketball game that is only remembered on a stat line, there will be 9,121 people who feel the divine experience and story of college basketball on the Plains.
