NCAAB Game Preview - Colgate at Auburn

Mon Nov 18, 2019 8:00 PM EST

After three hard-fought wins, Auburn put it all together in routing Cal State Northridge last week and will be looking for a repeat performance when it hosts Colgate on Monday night.

The No. 22 Tigers (4-0) recorded their eighth-highest scoring game in program history with their 116-70 thumping of Northridge, shooting a season-high 56.8 percent from the field with a season-high 17 made 3-pointers in 35 attempts.

Senior guards Samir Doughty and J'Von McCormick stood out. Doughty scored a career-high 33 points and did not turn the ball over. McCormick handed out a school single-game record 16 assists against a lone turnover.

Coach Bruce Pearl gave this assessment afterward.

"We've talked about how we have a long way to go," Pearl said. "We still have a long way to go, but we played better. Clearly, we shot it, shared it. We overwhelmed our opponent, which we haven't been able to do yet."

A duplicate result may be expecting too much, especially with the Tigers playing what will be their third game in six days. But a duplicate effort is possible. The Tigers held the Matadors to 34.2 percent shooting, handed out 27 assists, and committed a season-low 11 turnovers.

"For us, our only chance is to become a great defensive team," said Pearl, who is thinking ahead to Southeastern Conference competition. "To do that, we also have to become a great rebounding team. That's our best chance to be competitive in the SEC. We're still working on that."

The Raiders (1-2) come into the game after dropping double-digit affairs to a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. After winning their opener 80-75 over New Jersey Institute of Technology, they lost 81-68 at Clemson and 70-54 at Syracuse.

Colgate coach Matt Langel is well aware of the task his team faces against Auburn.

"Auburn is coming off more success than each of the three teams we have played so far," he said. "We will try to prepare like crazy for the game, but at this point in the year we have to stay focused on ourselves and getting better on a day-to-day basis."

Four players -- forward Rapolas Ivanauskas (14.3), forward Will Rayman (12.7), guard Jordan Burns (12.3), and guard Nelly Cummings (10.7) have averaged in double figures, and a fifth -- guard Tucker Richardson (9.0) -- is just a 3-point basket short of making it five.

Poor shooting hurt the Raiders at Syracuse. They shot only 30.0 percent overall and were 13 of 41 from behind the 3-point arc.

"Our shots just did not go in at times tonight," Langel said after the game. "We like our 3-point shooting and we are going to take 3-point shots, but to keep ourselves competitive and stay in the hunt tonight, we had to step up and make a few more than we did."

--Field Level Media