Auburn basketball is set to travel to Indianapolis, Indiana to face No. 6 Purdue in the Indy Classic Saturday evening.
The Tigers are 2-3 against ranked opponents this season, as their only ranked victories have come against St. John’s at the Players Era Event and NC State in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Despite sitting at an 8-3 overall record and ranks No. 21 in this week’s AP poll, Auburn coach Steven still views Purdue as a critical test for the Tigers this weekend.
“They’re the No. 1-rated offense in college basketball. We’ve played three of the top 7-ranked offenses in college basketball, with Michigan and Arizona, as well. They’re 13th nationally in rebounding margin, they’re fifth nationally in assist-turnover ratio,” Pearl said Thursday afternoon.
Auburn head coach Steven Pearl reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)AP
“Playing in Indianapolis will basically be a road game,” Pearl added. “It’s going to be a tremendous opportunity for us to play a team that was picked by most people to go to the Final Four. Great opportunity for our guys to see where we’re at.”
Last season, Auburn defeated Purdue 87-69 inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The Tigers held the Boilermakers to 39% shooting from the floor and 35% from beyond the arc.
Purdue also committed 12 turnovers, as Auburn totaled seven steals and six blocks against the Boilermakers in that game. Pearl talked about the film study from last year’s contest and spoke on how different the defensive gameplan will be this weekend.
“You watch last year’s film and think, ‘That’s the recipe.’ Well, we don’t have the same team as last year, so that’s not the recipe. We’ve got to be a little more creative in what we’re doing. That’s been a challenge. What we did last year was very effective, but we can’t really execute that because we don’t have the same size that last year’s team did, and the same rim protection,” Pearl said. “I thought Monday and Tuesday, our guys did a really good job, brought really good energy. Our guys were locked in and engaged. And I thought we got better those first two days of the week.”
This year Purdue ranks eighth in the country averaging 20.4 assists as a team. The Boilermakers are also shooting 50.5% from the floor, as they sit at a 10-1 overall record.
The Tigers matchup with the Boilermakers will tipoff at 5:30 following Northwestern vs. Butler. It will be streamed live on Peacock.