The Auburn Tigers men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team that represents

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. The school competes in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). The Tigers play their home games at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on the university campus. The program began in 1906, and is currently coached by Bruce Pearl. Auburn has won six conference regular season championships and three SEC tournament championships. Auburn has appeared in the NCAA tournament 14 times, making it as far as the Final Four in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. 14 Auburn players have been named All-Americans and Auburn has had 102 All-SEC selections. Auburn has produced 35 NBA draft picks, including Jabari Smith (

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

), who was selected with the third overall pick, the highest in Auburn history. Three Auburn players have been named SEC Player of the Year:

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

in 1984, Chris Porter in 1999, and Johni Broome in 2025. Auburn has had six head coaches selected as SEC Coach of the Year a total of nine times, and Auburn head coaches Cliff Ellis and Bruce Pearl were named National Coach of the Year by multiple outlets in 1999 and 2025, respectively. Former Auburn player Charles Barkley was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 2006.

Coaches

Auburn has had 20 head men's basketball coaches since the program was started in 1906 by Mike Donahue. The program is currently coached by Bruce Pearl.

Notable former coaches

Mike Donahue

Mike "Iron Mike" Donahue was Auburn's first head men's basketball coach, starting the program in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. He coached the program for 16 seasons, the longest tenure of any men's basketball coach in Auburn history, finishing with a record of 74–80–1 (.481). In addition to coaching basketball, Donahue served as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

and coached the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, track, and soccer teams while at Auburn.

Ralph "Shug" Jordan

Prior to his tenure as Auburn's head

coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan coached the Auburn men's basketball program for 10 seasons. Jordan was a football assistant coach when he coached the men's basketball program. After playing football and basketball for Auburn from 1929 to 1932, Jordan became the head men's basketball coach in 1933. He coached until 1942, when he was called overseas to fight as an officer in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following his service, Jordan returned to Auburn to coach the 1945–46 team. He left Auburn to become the head men's basketball coach at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

after the season. Jordan finished with a record of 95–77 (.552) at Auburn.

Joel Eaves

Joel Eaves was Auburn's 12th head men's basketball coach, coaching from 1949 to 1963. Eaves was a former Auburn football and basketball player, playing from 1934 to 1937 under head coach "Shug" Jordan. Auburn won its first ever SEC championship under Eaves in 1960, finishing 12–2 in the conference and 19–3 overall. Eaves was named SEC Coach of the Year following the 1960 season. Eaves finished with a 213–100 (.681) record at Auburn. Joel Eaves was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. Auburn's Memorial Coliseum was renamed after Eaves to Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum in 1987, and later to Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in 1993.

Sonny Smith

Sonny Smith was the 15th head men's basketball coach at Auburn, coaching for 11 seasons from 1978 to 1989. Smith coached Auburn to the NCAA tournament in 5 consecutive seasons, 1984 to 1988, including a run to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

in 1986 before losing to eventual national champion

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. In addition to leading Auburn to its first ever NCAA tournament in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, he also coached Auburn to its first SEC tournament championship in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. Smith was the first head men's basketball coach in Auburn history to coach three consecutive 20-win seasons, doing so from 1984 to 1986. Sonny Smith was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1988. Smith coached his final season at Auburn in 1989, leaving to become the head men's basketball coach at VCU. Smith finished with a record of 173–154 (.529). Smith was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Cliff Ellis

Cliff Ellis was the 17th head men's basketball coach at Auburn. He coached for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Ellis had some success early in his career, leading Auburn to the NIT three times in his first four seasons and being named SEC Coach of the Year in 1995. His most successful season at Auburn was the 1998–99 season, where he led the Tigers to an SEC regular season championship and the program's first ever #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, in which they reached the Sweet Sixteen. Ellis was named both SEC and National Coach of the Year in 1999. Ellis would take Auburn to the NCAA tournament two more times: reaching the Second Round in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and returning to the Sweet Sixteen in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. Ellis was released following the 2003–04 season after finishing the season with a 14–14 record. Auburn faced NCAA sanctions over alleged recruiting violations during the season, but Ellis was not found at fault after the investigation. Ellis finished with a record of 186–125 (.598) at Auburn, trailing only Eaves on the school's all-time wins list.

Bruce Pearl

Bruce Pearl became Auburn's 20th head men's basketball coach on March 18, 2014. He led Auburn to its third SEC regular season championship in the 2017–18 season and its second SEC tournament championship in

, en route to leading Auburn to its first ever

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

in the 2019 NCAA tournament. Following another regular season championship in the 2021–22 season, Pearl was selected as SEC Coach of the Year. He again won the SEC tournament championship in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Following winning his third SEC regular season championship in the 2025, Pearl was named SEC Coach of the Year for his second time at Auburn. He then led Auburn to its second Final Four in the 2025 NCAA tournament. On January 7, 2025, after earning his 214th win at Auburn in an 87–82 win over

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Pearl surpassed Joel Eaves to become the winningest coach in Auburn basketball history. Pearl's current record at Auburn is .

Awards and honors

National Coach of the Year * Cliff Ellis (1999) * Bruce Pearl (2025) SEC Coach of the Year * Joel Eaves (1960) * Bob Davis (1975) * Sonny Smith (1984, 1988) * Tommy Joe Eagles (1990) * Cliff Ellis (1995, 1999) * Bruce Pearl (2022, 2025) Alabama Sports Hall of Fame * Joel Eaves (1978) * Sonny Smith (2007)

Players

Retired numbers

All-Americans

National awards

National Player of the Year * Johni Broome (2025) - ''Sporting News'' National Freshman of the Year * Jabari Smith (2022) - ''NABC, USBWA'' National Defensive Player of the Year * Walker Kessler (2022) - ''NABC, Naismith'' Top at Position * Johni Broome (2025) - ''Malone Award, NABC Big Man of the Year''

Conference awards

SEC Player of the Year *

(1984) * Chris Porter (1999) * Johni Broome (2025) SEC Tournament MVP Bryce Brown basketball

(1984) * Chuck Person (1985) *

Bryce Brown Bryce Lee Brown (born May 14, 1991) is an American former professional football running back who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, and Seattle Seahawks. He attended the University of Tennessee his freshman year of college, but ...

(2019) * Johni Broome (2024) SEC Rookie of the Year * Chris Porter (1999) * Jabari Smith (2022) SEC Defensive Player of the Year * Walker Kessler (2022)

Other honors

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame *

(2006) National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame *

(2006) Alabama Sports Hall of Fame *

John Mengelt John P. Mengelt (born October 16, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life A two-year starter at Wendell Willkie High School (now Elwood High School) in Elwood, Indiana, Mengelt was named all-conference two years ...

(1995) *

(2001) * Rex Frederick (2003) * Chuck Person (2005) USBWA Most Courageous Award * Wes Flanigan (1997)

Auburn in the NBA

NBA Draft picks

Auburn has produced 35 NBA draft picks, including 10 first round picks. The most players selected from Auburn in a single draft was 3 in the 1988 draft. Jabari Smith holds the record for the highest draft pick from Auburn, selected 3rd overall in the 2022 draft. Auburn has had 5 players that transferred to another school before being selected in the NBA draft.

Undrafted free agents

In addition to its 30 NBA draft picks, Auburn has produced several undrafted free agents that went on to have NBA careers. * Myles Patrick (1980–1981) * Aaron Swinson (1994) * Adam Harrington (2002–2003) * Pat Burke (2002–2003, 2005–2007) * Marquis Daniels (2003–2013) * Jared Harper (2019–2022)

Awards and honors

League MVP *

(1993) All-Stars * Eddie Johnson (

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

) * Mike Mitchell (

) *

(

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, 1988,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

) Rookie of the Year * Chuck Person (1987) All-Rookie First Team *

(1985) * Chuck Person (1987) * Walker Kessler (2023) All-Rookie Second Team * Chris Morris (1989) * Wesley Person (1995) * Marquis Daniels (2004) * Isaac Okoro (2021) * Jabari Smith Jr. (2023)

Auburn in the Olympics

Championships and postseason

Conference regular season championships

Auburn has won six regular season conference championships in its history: one

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

championship in 1928 and four

championships in 1960, 1999, 2018, 2022, and 2025. Auburn also won the SEC West Division championship in 1999.

SEC Tournament

Auburn has won the SEC tournament three times: in 1985 under coach Sonny Smith and in 2019 and 2024 under Bruce Pearl. The 1985 Auburn Tigers won the tournament after beating

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

53–49 in overtime. That 1985 Auburn team was the first ever to win four games in four days to win the SEC Tournament. In 2019, the Tigers earned a bye in the Tournament during the regular season and won games against

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

before crushing

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in the final game 84–64. In 2024, Auburn defeated

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, and

en route to their second tournament title under Bruce Pearl. Auburn has reached the SEC Tournament final two other times: in 1984, where they lost to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

51–49, and in 2000, where they lost to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

75–67. Auburn has had four SEC Tournament MVPs:

in 1984, Chuck Person in 1985,

in 2019, and Johni Broome in 2024.

NCAA tournament

Auburn has appeared in the NCAA tournament 14 times. Their combined record is 23–14.

NIT

Auburn has appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) 6 times. Their combined record is 4–6.

Facilities

Former facilities

Alumni Gymnasium

Auburn's first on-campus basketball facility was Alumni Gymnasium, which opened in February 1916. Auburn played its home games in Alumni Gymnasium until Auburn Sports Arena was opened in 1946.

Auburn Sports Arena

Auburn Sports Arena was a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena. Nicknamed "The Barn," it opened in 1946. It was replaced when Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum opened in 1969. Auburn Sports Arena stood until September 21, 1996, when it caught fire and burned down in the middle of a football game between Auburn and

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum

Beard A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, beards are most commonly seen on pubescent or adult males, though women have been observed with beards ...

–

Eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

– Memorial Coliseum is a 10,500-seat multipurpose arena that opened in 1969 under the name Memorial Coliseum. It was renamed after former player and coach Joel Eaves to Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum in 1987. It was renamed for the final time to Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in 1993, adding the name of former Auburn athletic director Jeff Beard. Auburn boasted a 393–182 (.683) overall record at Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum. Auburn had a winning record at home in 37 of the 42 seasons Auburn played in the Coliseum. Auburn's 30-game home winning streak from the 1997–98 season to the final game of the 1999–2000 season was the longest in Coliseum history. It was the nation's second longest current winning streak at the time and is the second longest home winning streak in Auburn history. Auburn played its final season in Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum in the 2009–10 season. Auburn's final game in Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum was on March 3, 2010; Auburn beat

89–80.

Neville Arena

On June 29, 2007, Auburn announced plans to build a new $92.5 million basketball arena and practice facilities that would eventually be completed for the 2010–11 season. The arena was initially named Auburn Arena, but later renamed to Neville Arena in 2022. With a seating capacity of 9,121, Neville Arena is the smallest men's basketball arena in the SEC. Aside from the main court, the arena also contains two practice courts, a weight room, 12 suites, coaches offices, the Auburn Ticket Office, and the Lovelace Athletic Museum. Auburn played its first game in Auburn Arena on November 12, 2010, losing to UNC Asheville in overtime 70–69. Auburn's first win in Auburn Arena came on November 21, 2010, when Auburn beat

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

68–66. Auburn currently holds a record in Neville Arena.

Traditions

Rivalries

Alabama

Sometimes referred to as the " Iron Bowl of Basketball," Auburn and

have a fierce rivalry that dates back to 1924. Auburn and Alabama first met in the

Tournament on March 1, 1924, and Auburn lost 19–40. The two programs did not meet again until 1941 in the SEC tournament, a matchup that Auburn lost again 16–38. The programs have played regularly since 1948, meeting at least twice every season starting in 1949. Auburn's first win in the rivalry came in their sixth meeting on December 20, 1949, when Auburn beat Alabama 45–40. Auburn and Alabama have met in the SEC Tournament 9 times, including Auburn's 53–49 overtime victory over Alabama in the

SEC Tournament championship game. Alabama leads the all-time series 103–69.

Georgia

is Auburn's oldest rival, first meeting in 1908 in Columbus, GA. Auburn won that game 34–20. Auburn and Georgia have played at least once every year since 1945. Auburn leads the all-time series 104–97.

UAB

Though Auburn and UAB have met just 21 times, the two programs have a strong history. The first game between the two schools was played on November 26, 1982, a matchup won by Auburn, 63–61. The programs met 16 more times over the next two decades until the series was discontinued after the 1999–2000 season. In 2015, Auburn and UAB agreed to a four-game series that reignited the rivalry. Auburn leads the all-time series 11–10.

Student section

Auburn's student section is known as The Jungle. Auburn held a vote to name their student section at the start of the 2011–12 season, and The Jungle was chosen from several options. Auburn officially started The Jungle on January 11, 2012, for the Auburn–

game. The Jungle was awarded the Sixth Man Award at the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

team banquet for its "outstanding support throughout the season and making Auburn Arena one of the loudest venues in the SEC." The Auburn student section was previously known as Lebo's Lunatics during Jeff Lebo's tenure at Auburn and the Cliff Dwellers during Cliff Ellis' tenure.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Auburn Tigers Men's Basketball