2018–19 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach was Bruce Pearl in his 5th season at Auburn. The team played their home games at the Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 30–10, 11–7 in SEC play. They defeated Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee to win the SEC tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated New Mexico State, Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky to advance to their first Final Four in school history where they lost to Virginia.^[1]

2018–19 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 14
Record	30–10 (11–7 SEC)
Head coach	Bruce Pearl (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Ira Bowman (1st season) Wes Flanigan (1st season) Steven Pearl (2nd season)
Home arena	Auburn Arena
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 LSU	16	–	2		.889			28	–	7		.800
No. 10 Tennessee	15	–	3		.833			31	–	6		.838
No. 7 Kentucky	15	–	3		.833			30	–	7		.811
No. 5 Auburn†	11	–	7		.611			30	–	10		.750
South Carolina	11	–	7		.611			16	–	16		.500
Mississippi State	10	–	8		.556			23	–	11		.676
Ole Miss	10	–	8		.556			20	–	13		.606
Florida	9	–	9		.500			20	–	16		.556
Alabama	8	–	10		.444			18	–	16		.529
Arkansas	8	–	10		.444			18	–	16		.529
Texas A&M	6	–	12		.333			14	–	18		.438
Missouri	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Georgia	2	–	16		.111			11	–	21		.344
Vanderbilt	0	–	18		.000			9	–	23		.281
† 2019 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

Auburn finished the 2017–18 season 26–8, 13–5 in SEC play to win a share of the SEC regular season championship. They lost to Alabama in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated College of Charleston to advance to the Second Round where they lost to Clemson.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Mustapha Heron	5	G	6'5"	218	Sophomore	Waterbury, CT	Transferred to St. John's
Davion Mitchell	10	G	6'1"	200	Freshman	Hinesville, GA	Transferred to Baylor
Desean Murray	13	F	6'3"	225	Junior	Stanley, NC	Transferred to Western Kentucky
Patrick Keim	21	G	6'0"	186	Senior	Birmingham, AL	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
J'Von McCormick	12	G	6'0"	170	Junior	Katy, TX	Lee College
Jamal Johnson		G	6'3"	178	Sophomore	Birmingham, AL	Memphis

Roster

2018–19 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Horace Spencer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Findlay Prep Warminster, PA G 1 Jared Harper 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Pebblebrook Mableton, GA G 2 Bryce Brown 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Sr Tucker Stone Mountain, GA F 3 Danjel Purifoy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Hargrave Military Academy Centerville, AL G/F 4 Malik Dunbar 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Spring Valley/College of Central Florida North Augusta, SC F 5 Chuma Okeke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Westlake Atlanta, GA G 10 Samir Doughty 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Mathematics, Civics & Science/VCU Philadelphia, PA G 12 J'Von McCormick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Mayde Creek/Lee College Katy, TX G 14 Preston Cook (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Auburn Auburn, AL F 20 Myles Parker (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Madison Academy Madison, AL G 21 Devontae Williams (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Opp Opp, AL G 22 Will Macoy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Vestavia Hills Birmingham, AL F 24 Anfernee McLemore 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Worth County Warwick, GA G 25 Brett Easterling (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Lawton Chiles Tallahassee, FL C 41 Cole Blackstock 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Brooks Killen, AL C 50 Austin Wiley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Spain Park Hoover, AL F 54 Thomas Collier (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Briarwood Christian Birmingham, AL G Jamal Johnson (I)  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Spain Park/Memphis Birmingham, AL	Head coach Bruce Pearl (Boston College) Assistant coach(es) Ira Bowman (Penn) Wes Flanigan (Auburn) Steven Pearl (Tennessee) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2018* 7:00 pm	No. 11	Lincoln Memorial	W 76–62	–	22 – Harper	11 – Okeke	5 – Okeke	Auburn Arena (8,121) Auburn, AL
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018* 8:00 pm, SECN	No. 11	South Alabama	W 101–58	1–0	20 – Tied	9 – Okeke	13 – Harper	Auburn Arena (7,754) Auburn, AL
November 9, 2018* 8:30 pm, SECN	No. 11	No. 25 Washington	W 88–66	2–0	19 – Okeke	10 – Okeke	5 – Harper	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
November 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 9	Mississippi College	W 103–52	3–0	18 – Wiley	17 – Spencer	4 – Harper	Auburn Arena (6,959) Auburn, AL
November 19, 2018* 1:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 8	vs. Xavier Maui Invitational tournament quarterfinals	W 88–79 OT	4–0	26 – Brown	7 – Okeke	8 – Harper	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI
November 20, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 8	vs. No. 1 Duke Maui Invitational Tournament semifinals	L 72–78	4–1	22 – Harper	12 – McLemore	6 – Harper	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI
November 21, 2018* 10:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 8	vs. Arizona Maui Invitational Tournament 3rd place game	W 73–57	5–1	19 – Brown	6 – Okeke	5 – Harper	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI
November 28, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 8	Saint Peter's	W 99–49	6–1	19 – Tied	6 – Tied	8 – Harper	Auburn Arena (7,162) Auburn, AL
December 4, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 8	UNC Asheville	W 67–41	7–1	14 – Wiley	7 – Tied	5 – Okeke	Auburn Arena (7,121) Auburn, AL
December 8, 2018* 7:30 pm, SECN	No. 8	Dayton	W 82–72	8–1	34 – Brown	10 – Doughty	7 – Harper	Auburn Arena (8,365) Auburn, AL
December 15, 2018* 6:30 pm, CBSSN	No. 8	at UAB Rivalry/Mike Slive Invitational	W 75–71 OT	9–1	31 – Harper	6 – Tied	3 – Harper	Legacy Arena (15,856) Birmingham, AL
December 19, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 7	at NC State	L 71–78	9–2	14 – McCormick	6 – Tied	5 – Harper	PNC Arena (17,793) Raleigh, NC
December 22, 2018* 3:30 pm, SECN	No. 7	Murray State	W 93–88	10–2	20 – Doughty	10 – Wiley	10 – Harper	Auburn Arena (8,356) Auburn, AL
December 29, 2018* 4:00 pm, SECN+	No. 12	North Florida	W 95–49	11–2	18 – Brown	7 – Wiley	10 – Harper	Auburn Arena (8,450) Auburn, AL
SEC regular season
January 9, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	at Ole Miss	L 67–82	11–3 (0–1)	23 – Brown	7 – Tied	5 – Harper	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,241) Oxford, MS
January 12, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	Georgia	W 93–78	12–3 (1–1)	22 – Harper	6 – Spencer	7 – Harper	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 16, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 14	at Texas A&M	W 85–66	13–3 (2–1)	22 – Brown	12 – Wiley	6 – Harper	Reed Arena (8,730) College Station, TX
January 19, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN	No. 14	No. 12 Kentucky	L 80–82	13–4 (2–2)	28 – Brown	8 – Spencer	6 – Harper	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
January 22, 2019 5:30 pm, SECN	No. 16	at South Carolina	L 77–80	13–5 (2–3)	17 – Tied	7 – Okeke	5 – Harper	Colonial Life Arena (13,857) Columbia, SC
January 26, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN	No. 16	at No. 22 Mississippi State	L 84–92	13–6 (2–4)	18 – Brown	5 – Doughty	7 – Harper	Humphrey Coliseum (10,063) Starkville, MS
January 30, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN		Missouri	W 92–58	14–6 (3–4)	16 – Harper	12 – Okeke	5 – Harper	Auburn Arena (7,213) Auburn, AL
February 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2		Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball	W 84–63	15–6 (4–4)	23 – Brown	5 – Tied	5 – Harper	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Florida	W 76–62	16–6 (5–4)	14 – Brown	8 – Okeke	3 – Harper	Auburn Arena (7,714) Auburn, AL
February 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 21 LSU	L 78–83	16–7 (5–5)	25 – Harper	14 – Okeke	7 – Harper	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,004) Baton Rouge, LA
February 13, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN		Ole Miss	L 55–60	16–8 (5–6)	23 – Okeke	11 – Okeke	2 – Tied	Auburn Arena (7,337) Auburn, AL
February 16, 2019 11:00 am, ESPNU		at Vanderbilt	W 64–53	17–8 (6–6)	16 – Harper	6 – Okeke	8 – Harper	Memorial Gymnasium (11,287) Nashville, TN
February 20, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN		Arkansas	W 79–56	18–8 (7–6)	18 – Brown	6 – McLemore	5 – Okeke	Auburn Arena (7,493) Auburn, AL
February 23, 2019 12:30 pm, CBS		at No. 4 Kentucky	L 53–80	18–9 (7–7)	14 – Okeke	8 – McLemore	2 – Tied	Rupp Arena (23,427) Lexington, KY
February 27, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Georgia	W 78–75	19–9 (8–7)	22 – Harper	6 – Okeke	5 – Harper	Stegeman Coliseum (7,837) Athens, GA
March 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU		Mississippi State	W 80–75	20–9 (9–7)	24 – Brown	7 – Okeke	9 – Harper	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
March 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball	W 66–60	21–9 (10–7)	17 – Okeke	14 – Okeke	3 – Okeke	Coleman Coliseum (11,865) Tuscaloosa, AL
March 9, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN		No. 5 Tennessee	W 84–80	22–9 (11–7)	22 – Okeke	5 – Tied	8 – Harper	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
SEC Tournament
March 14, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN	(5) No. 22	vs. (12) Missouri Second Round	W 81–71	23–9	17 – Brown	10 – Spencer	5 – Harper	Bridgestone Arena (12,720) Nashville, TN
March 15, 2019 2:30 pm, ESPN	(5) No. 22	vs. (4) South Carolina Quarterfinals	W 73–64	24–9	27 – Harper	6 – Harper	6 – Harper	Bridgestone Arena (16,490) Nashville, TN
March 16, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN	(5) No. 22	vs. (8) Florida Semifinals	W 65–62	25–9	20 – Harper	7 – Okeke	4 – Doughty	Bridgestone Arena (20,933) Nashville, TN
March 17, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN	(5) No. 22	vs. (3) No. 8 Tennessee Championship	W 84–64	26–9	19 – Brown	13 – Okeke	6 – Harper	Bridgestone Arena (19,452) Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2019* 12:30 pm, TNT	(5 MW) No. 14	vs. (12 MW) New Mexico State First Round	W 78–77	27–9	17 – Harper	5 – Okeke	5 – Brown	Vivint Smart Home Arena (16,576) Salt Lake City, UT
March 23, 2019* 8:40 pm, TBS	(5 MW) No. 14	vs. (4 MW) No. 17 Kansas Second Round	W 89–75	28–9	25 – Brown	5 – Okeke	6 – Harper	Vivint Smart Home Arena (17,792) Salt Lake City, UT
March 29, 2019* 6:29 pm, TBS	(5 MW) No. 14	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 North Carolina Sweet Sixteen	W 97–80	29–9	20 – Okeke	11 – Okeke	11 – Harper	Sprint Center (17,385) Kansas City, MO
March 31, 2019* 1:20 pm, CBS	(5 MW) No. 14	vs. (2 MW) No. 7 Kentucky Elite Eight	W 77–71 OT	30–9	26 – Harper	7 – Tied	5 – Harper	Sprint Center (17,174) Kansas City, MO
April 6, 2019* 5:09 pm, CBS	(5 MW) No. 14	vs. (1 S) No. 2 Virginia Final Four	L 62–63	30–10	13 – Doughty	12 – McLemore	3 – Tied	U.S. Bank Stadium (72,711) Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest S=South. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	11	9	8	8	8	8	7	12	12	11	14	16	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	14	Not released
Coaches	12	12^	9	8	10–T	9	8	7	12	13	14	10	12	15	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	18	5

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

Awards and honors

Bryce Brown

• Jerry West Award Preseason Watch List^[3]
• Preseason Media Second Team All-SEC^[4]
• Preseason Coaches' Second Team All-SEC^[5]
• Coaches' Second Team All-SEC^[6]
• SEC All-Tournament Team^[7]
• SEC Tournament MVP^[7]

Jared Harper

• Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List^[8]
• Preseason Media Second Team All-SEC^[4]
• Preseason Coaches' Second Team All-SEC^[5]
• Maui Jim Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team^[9]
• AP Second Team All-SEC^[10]
• Coaches' Second Team All-SEC^[6]
• SEC All-Tournament Team^[7]
• NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team^[11]
• NCAA Midwest Regional MVP^[11]

Chuma Okeke

• SEC All-Tournament Team^[7]
• NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team^[12]

Austin Wiley

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Preseason Watch List^[13]

References

1. "2018-19 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". Retrieved April 18, 2019.
2. "2017-18 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". Retrieved April 18, 2019.
3. "College basketball awards: 20 shooting guards named to Jerry West Award preseason watch list". NCAA. October 17, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
4. "Media picks Kentucky as 2019 SEC Champion". Southeastern Conference. October 17, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
5. "2019 SEC Men's Basketball preseason teams announced". Southeastern Conference. November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
6. "2019 SEC Men's Basketball Awards announced". Southeastern Conference. March 12, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
7. "SEC announces All-Tournament team after Auburn wins tourney title". Saturday Down South. March 17, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
8. "College basketball awards: 20 point guards named to Bob Cousy Award preseason watch list". NCAA. October 17, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
9. "Bryce Brown becomes 3-point king as Auburn caps Maui Invitational with win". AuburnTigers.com. November 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
10. "Tennessee's Grant Williams named AP SEC player of year". Associated Press. March 12, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
11. "Auburn point guard Jared Harper to leave school, enter draft". Associated Press. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
12. "Chuma Okeke declares for 2019 NBA Draft". AuburnTigers.com. April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
13. "College basketball awards: 21 centers named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar preseason watch list". NCAA. October 19, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2019.