Ainslie Lee

Oct 15, 2024 | sports.yahoo.com | Ainslie Lee

There really isn't a word or saying that truly encapsulates what's ahead for Auburn basketball this season. Calling the Tigers' 2024-25 schedule a "gauntlet" would be putting it nicely. Saying it's a "baptism by fire" doesn't paint the full picture either. KenPom's preseason rankings came out Monday. The good news? Auburn ranks third in the nation — besting rival Alabama by one spot. The not-so-good news?

Oct 15, 2024 | sports.yahoo.com | Ainslie Lee

BIRMINGHAM — Minutes before Auburn basketball senior center Johni Broome met with media members inside the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook in Birmingham on Tuesday morning, LSU head coach Matt McMahon was asked about Auburn's returning big man. McMahon, who coached at Murray State before taking the reins of the LSU program, is a seasoned vet when it comes to coaching against Broome. McMahon first ran into the current Auburn Tiger when Broome was starting his college career at Morehead State.

Sep 15, 2024 | al.com | Ainslie Lee

Simply put, while Auburn topped New Mexico 45-19, head coach Hugh Freeze wasn’t thrilled with how his defense played on Saturday night. “I thought we were not very good on defense,” Freeze said in his postgame press conference. “And I think DJ (Durkin) would agree.”Auburn’s defense, led by first-year defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, allowed New Mexico to tally 448 yards of total offense — 291 through the air and 157 on the ground. And according to Freeze, there’s a few factors to blame.

Sep 15, 2024 | al.com | Ainslie Lee

Having just learned that he’d be starting his first college football game, Auburn redshirt freshman Hank Brown had a phone call to make. “The first person I called was my dad,” Brown told reporters on Saturday night after his debut as Auburn’s starting quarterback. Brown says both his dad Eric and his mom Lesley have walked alongside him in his journey to becoming a starting quarterback in the SEC. But he and his dad are “very similar,” Brown says.

Sep 15, 2024 | al.com | Ainslie Lee

While Auburn’s quarterbacks might not have known who was going to start Saturday’s game against New Mexico late in the week, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze knew well before then. “I decided Monday after watching the film,” Freeze said in his press conference following Auburn’s 45-19 win over New Mexico. That decision was that redshirt freshman Hank Brown would start the first game of his college career, replacing fifth-year senior Payton Thorne as Auburn’s starting quarterback.