Report: Auburn, Memphis set to play neutral site game in 2022-23 season

James Fletcher IIIby:James Fletcher III•06/30/22•

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Auburn basketball will face Memphis in a non-conference game during the 2022-23 season, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. The neutral site meeting will take place inside State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Auburn is coming off a 28-6 season which lifted them to a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament before a second-round loss against Miami. Memphis is also coming off a second-round loss against 1-seed Gonzaga after a late season push propelled them off the bubble.

Auburn loses two key players to the NBA Draft in Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, while Memphis also lost two contributors in Jalen Duren and Josh Minott. Both sets of Tigers have remade their roster with big additions and will get an early neutral site test to fine-tune their lineups before conference play begins less than one month later.

Bruce Pearl on college alternatives

A few seasons ago, professional options like the G-League were able to lure top prospects away from college basketball. The NCAA fired back with the creation and passing of NIL regulations. In just one year, NIL has changed the path that players can take from high school to college and even college to the NBA. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl got to see examples of this firsthand this season.

In a recent appearance on ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd, Pearl talked about the differences between collegiate and professional options. He says those who just want the money should certainly consider the G-League. If you want the experiences, though? He believes college is still the way to go, as evidenced by the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft Jabari Smith.

“If you want your 18-year old son to be the breadwinner right away for your family, go ahead and put them in the G-League if that’s what it’s all about. Jabari (Smith) said I want to go to college. I want to be a freshman, to be in ‘The Jungle’ at Auburn, to go to football games and sit in the front tow, to get to know Sunni Lee and support her. I want to get better and when my game is right, the NBA is going to tell me my game is right.”