The Fort Myers Tip-Off is set to get underway on Thanksgiving Day, and while the field may look a little different than expected, the basketball should still be compelling. Initially, the tournament was supposed to consist of Wisconsin, Colorado, South Florida, and Butler, but those teams opted to withdraw due to health concerns.
In their place, St. Joseph, Auburn, Gonzaga, and Kansas will play starting on Thursday. In one of the first matchups, St. Joseph and Auburn will take on one another with tipoff scheduled for 4:30 P.M. Eastern.
Last season was quite a disappointment for St. Joseph. They finished the season 6-26 overall and 2-16 in the Atlantic 10. Head Coach Billy Lange will look for a much better season in his second year at the helm.
Auburn comes into this season after finishing third in the SEC with a 12-6 record in the conference and a 25-6 overall record. Unfortunately, they have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as of late.
The squad recently announced a self-imposed ban on any postseason play. The ban was put in place as a result of the investigation into issues around one of their former coaches and issues of bribery. While postseason aspirations may be out of the picture, head coach Bruce Pearl will still look to have a successful regular season.
St. Joseph Looks To Experience For Better Season
Last season certainly left something to be desired in terms of overall record, but the Hawks will have the advantage of experience this season. They will look to use that experience to improve on their 6-win season from last year.
Leading the way for St. Joseph is senior Ryan Daly. Not only was Daly the leading scorer for St. Joseph last year, but he was the top scorer in the Atlantic 10. On the year, he averaged 20.6 points on 42.5% shooting. Daly also chipped in 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
Daly isn’t the only productive player returning; in fact, the Hawks return all five of their top scorers, including Cameron Brown (10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds), Taylor Funk (9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists), Myles Douglas (7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds) and Rahmir Moore (7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds).
They also have some exciting players who are new to the program in Jadrian Tracey, Jordan Hall, and Anton Jansson.
Auburn Looking for a Hot Start
For a program that has had little to be excited about recently, getting off to a good start in this tournament would be a bit of good news. While Auburn may not be able to play in the postseason this season, that doesn’t prevent them from having a great regular season.
Last season, the Tigers had four players averaging double-digits, including Samir Doughty (16.7 points) and Isaac Okoro (12.8 points). All four of these players (as well as their next two top scorers) are all gone this season, which means Bruce Pearl’s team will be young.
Just because they are young doesn’t mean they aren’t talented. The Tigers had the No. 9 ranked recruiting class, and the player that Auburn hopes to take over the lead role is freshman guard Sharife Cooper.
With no seniors and only a few juniors, most of the Tigers’ roster will be underclassmen. Auburn will be young, but they will still look to build off a season that saw them finish 20th in the nation when the season came to a halt last year.
Taking Auburn Straight Up
Undoubtedly, the St. Joseph Hawks should end the season with a much better record than last season. Their experience alone should help them bounce back from a rough last season.
As nice as experience is, it still doesn’t make up for sheer talent. In terms of ability, Auburn still has the more talented team. While they will likely have their growing pains early on, I still like Auburn to win this first matchup.
FREE PICK: Auburn Tigers (-8.5).
