Morning reads: Auburn baseball's regional hopes, no Penn State night game, Allen Greene speaks and more
Good morning, Auburn fans, and welcome to the Morning Reads. Every day, we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Tigers’ athletics, and the sporing world. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Auburn football, recruiting, basketball, baseball and much more in Morning Reads.
Are you subscribed to Auburn Live yet?
Are you ready to get all your latest Auburn news in one place? Become a member of Auburn Live today. With your Auburn Live/On3+ membership, you’ll not only have access to the everything that’s happening with the Tigers, but you’ll also be able to peruse other fan sites within the network to hear just how rivals are feeling about Auburn, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter.
Auburn done enough to host a regional?
With hopes of hosting a regional, Auburn (37-19, 16-13) will await Monday’s release of NCAA Tournament pairings during the selection show beginning at 11 a.m. CT.
“I know we’re in a regional,” Auburn’s Butch Thompson said. “I absolutely think we’ve done enough (to host). We’ve maintained a top 10 RPI nationally out of 301 schools for a prolonged period of time. Three games over .500 (in the SEC), we’ve played good baseball, so absolutely that would be my wish and desire.”
According to D1Baseball, the Tigers’ RPI has slipped to No. 11 entering Thursday. That’s a seven spot drop in the last seven days.
Baseball America projected Auburn as the No. 10 overall national seed in their latest NCAA Tournament projections released on Tuesday.
CBS deprives Auburn of night game against Penn State
After last season’s thriller in Happy Valley, Penn State will be making the return trip to Auburn for one of the most anticipated non-conference matchups of the year. CBS picked up the game with a 2:30 pm CT kickoff scheduled for September 17.
While CBS is a primetime national audience, it is disappointing that yet another big game will not be played at night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Last season, the games against both Georgia and Alabama were picked up by CBS and played in the afternoon. The home game against Mississippi State was picked up by ESPN, but played during the day. Auburn lost all three games.
The only prime time night game atmosphere was against then No. 10 Ole Miss on ESPN. The Tigers won the game 31-20 in one of the best environments of the season. The stadium’s light-show capabilities were on full display and the party went well into the night following the win.
Many have marveled at the Penn State home experience against Auburn last season, a game played at night in front of a White Out crowd. Unfortunately, Auburn won’t get the same opportunity to create the same night game atmosphere.
After Penn State, the only home games remaining that are possible for a ESPN prime time night game are Missouri, LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M. We’ll see how it plays out and if Auburn can land more than one night prime time game this season.
Allen Greene speaks with new president Chris Roberts
From the On3 Sports national news desk after Allen Greene spoke to local media before the final AMBUSH event with Bryan Harsin and Bruce Pearl in Columbus, Georgia this week.
Auburn athletic director Allen Greene held a meeting with new school president Chris Roberts as he enters the final year of his contract.
“Dr. Roberts, number one, he is a class-act person,” Greene told AL.com. “And I’ve known that from his time and our interactions when he was the dean of the College of Engineering. Now he’s stepping over into this new role, and just sitting down and getting a feel for his energy and his intellect and his problem-solving ability, it’s really cool to be a part of.”
Latest on elite basketball target Elijah Fisher
On3 Sports insider Jamie Shaw recently wrote this about Elijah Fisher, the nation’s No. 20-ranked player in the 2023 class:
Another program with rumors floating surrounding Fisher is Auburn. In April, Fisher told On3 that he heard the most from Auburn and Texas Tech, the others dropped off. Intel, coming from the Auburn side, says he is not a take for the Tigers.
Fisher has been a standout on the Adidas 3SSB circuit this summer, as he is the third-leading scorer at 21.6 points per game. He also averages 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 52.3-percent from the field. On3 is ahead of the industry on the 6-foot-7 forward as the industry average has him at 33.
