For about 15 and a half minutes during Auburn's 92-59 opening-night win over Southeastern Louisiana, there was industrial-grade anxiety on the Plains. After all, the Tigers led the Lions 27-23 at Neville Arena at one point, despite owning a seismic talent advantage.
Given that the football team's season fell off the rails with two straight double-digit losses to LSU and Ole Miss, AU basketball was supposed to inspire hope. Until the 4:38 mark in the game on Wednesday, it seemed like Auburn hoops was also going to be, at best, a middle-of-the-pack team in the SEC. Struggling against a Southland squad will do that to you.
A 15-2 run until the half, capped off by a banked-in half-court heave from guard Tahaad Pettiford, changed the entire tone of the game. The Tigers never relinquished control and started the 2026-27 season in style.
Here were five observations from the big win:
Narcisse Ngoy is still getting used to the speed of the game
There's clearly still an adjustment period for French big man Narcisse Ngoy at the Division I level in America.
Ngoy, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers this past June in the 2026 NBA draft's second round, dominated the boards and at the rim on easy looks because of his size.
Defensively, he was caught flat-footed a few times and bit on pump fakes. He'll get there. Ngoy has immense potential and incredible size for the college game.
Tahaad Pettiford is going to be this team's leader
There were strange locker room dynamics last year, but with Keyshawn Hall gone, Pettiford is the clear-cut alpha.
Pettiford was active in scoring the ball with a team-high 18 points, albeit not with the most efficient performance. He set the tone with five assists and helped the team get running in the open court.
Pettiford is about go show the NBA why he is a future pro guard this season.
Bukky Oboye is a defensive machine
Bukky Oboye looked comfortable in his new home after spending three years at Santa Clara. Particularly, Oboye was dominant on the defensive end, swatting away five shots.
Oboye gives AU two legitimate big men options if Ngoy ever has foul troubles.
Caleb Williams is a steal
Caleb Williams was all over the floor, contributing seven points, three boards, three assists, and three steals. The No. 28 recruit in the 2026 class looked the part in his orange and blue debut.
Dare I say a Chad Baker-Mazara type, though not as boisterous. Williams is filling in for the role Mantas Rubštavičius was supposed to fill on the wing.
Steven Pearl has a much better roster this year
The defensive effort wasn't perfect, but natural early chemistry issues aside, this roster looked good. Steven Pearl clearly has a better team this season than in his first year in 2025-26.
He doesn't have the awkward hand-off from Bruce to contend with either. From the jump, this is Steven's group.
The identity is very Bruce-era-esque, with guards who create and bigs who do the grunt work in the paint. That's a very good thing.
Add us as a preferred source on Google