Breakfast with the Trojans: Troy Basketball Travels to Auburn for Saturday Morning Contest

TROY, Ala. -- The Troy men's basketball program will take the short trip up I-60 Saturday morning for an 11 a.m. contest against Auburn at Auburn Arena.

The game will be shown live on the SEC Network, while Barry McKnight will handle all the radio play-by-play duties beginning with the pregame show at 10:35.

Winners of three straight, the Trojans (4-3) enter Saturday's matchup looking to record the programs second all-time victory at Auburn Arena. The Trojans defeated Auburn (4-2) back in 2009 (Dec. 4), 81-77 in the most recent matchup between the two schools that are separated by just 89 miles. In that matchup, former Troy great Brandon Hazzard had a game-best 28 points and nailed seven triples.

Following Saturday's contest against Auburn, Troy returns to action one week from Monday (Dec. 28) when Carver College visits Trojan Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
TROY (4-3) at Auburn (4-2)
DATE: December 19, 2020
TIME: 11 AM
LOCATION: Auburn Arena (Auburn, Ala.)
WATCH: Watch
LISTEN: Radio
LIVE STATS: Stats
SERIES: Auburn leads the all-time series 8-1.

LAST TIME OUT- (Troy, 4-3): The Trojans enter Saturday's matchup against Auburn, riding a three-game winning streak. The streak began last Thursday (Dec. 10) at North Alabama, when Troy dropped UNA 62-57. In that game, freshman Duke Miles hit a clutch layup and nailed a pair of free throws to give the Trojans a three-point lead. A block and two free throws from senior Khalyl Waters (20 points) sealed the victory. On Sunday, Troy used a historic defensive effort to defeat Central Baptist, 61-44. For the ballgame, the Trojans held the potent Mustang attack to just 11 total field goals and three total 3-pointers. The 11 total field goals allowed are the fewest that the Trojans have allowed in a game in the school's D-I history. The turning point of that game, was a 15-minute span where the Trojans held CBC without a field goal and used a 23-4 run to take a 26-point lead. Zay William led the way for the Trojans scoring 13 points, while freshman Kam Woods added 10.

On Wednesday, the Trojans notched their most impressive victory of the season, downing in-state rival Samford 79-71. In that contest, the Trojans received career performances from Waters (21 points, 13-14 FT), Nick Stampley (17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks) and Zay Williams (20 points, 13 rebounds and 11-15 FT). The game got off to a wild start, as there were three techincals in the first five minutes and a flagrant foul just eight seconds in. The Trojans scored 47 first half points and withstood a frantic Samford run to hold on for the victory. Troy got it done on the defensive end holding Samford to the fewest points (71) that they have scored all season and the fewest amount of made 3-point attempts (5).

LAST TIME OUT- (Auburn, 4-2): Similar to the Trojans, the Auburn Tigers enter Saturday morning's contest riding a three-game winning streak. After beating St. Joe's in its season-opener in overtime, Auburn fell to No. 1 Gonzaga (90-67) and at UCF (63-55) to fall below .500. The Tigers three-game winning streak began two weeks ago (Dec. 4) with a 90-81 victory over South Alabama and continued last Saturday down in Atlanta against Memphis (74-71). On Tuesday, the Tigers earned their most lopsided victory of the season, defeating preseason SWAC favorites Texas Southern, 80-63. In that game, the Tiger shot just 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) from distance, but used 28 total field goals and 20 made free throw attempts to down the Texas Southern. The Auburn players scored in double-figures led by Allen Flanigan (18 points, 6-12 FG), Justin Powell (15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists) and Jaylin Williams (15 points and 6 rebounds).

So far this season, Auburn has three different players scoring in double-figures led by Powell (16.5 points, 51.6 percent FG), Flanigan (13.8 points) and Williams (10.0 points). Auburn is 2-0 this season at Auburn Arena and has won 31 consecutive non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl dating back to the 2017-18 season.

STORYLINES:

BREAKFAST WITH THE TROJANS

Troy's matchup Saturday at Auburn has been moved to an 11 a.m. start time to accommodate the SEC Network. The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. on the SEC Network. The matchup is Troy's second nationally-televised contest of the season.

A WHOLE LOT OF FREE THROWS

Troy converted on 36 of its 44 free throw attempts on Wednesday night. The 36 made free throws are the most in Troy's D-I history. The Troy program record for free throws made in a game was 41 against Auburn-Montgomery back in 1992.

UNCLE MO!

Troy enters Saturday morning's contest riding a Scott Cross Era best three-game winning streak (Troy also won three straight from Nov. 30-Dec. 11 last season). Over the three-game winning streak, the Trojans have led for 114 minutes and 46 seconds and have trailed for just 96 seconds. Troy's last two victories were wire-to-wire victories. Troy led for 38 minutes and 30 seconds against Samford.

ALL BARK NO BITE

In just the programs third matchup in the last 17 years, the Trojans defeated Samford Wednesday night for the first time since 2003. In the wire-to-wire victory, the Trojans held the dangerous Samford attack to a season-low 71 points and five total 3-pointers made. Coming into the contest, the Bulldogs had scored at least 75 points in every game this season.

BLOCK PARTIES ARE COIVD SAFE!
The Trojans have recorded 13 total blocks the last two games. After recording seven against Central Baptist on Sunday, the Trojans turned in six blocks Wednesday night against Samford. Senior Nick Stampley had five of the Trojans six, including his second-half block that appeared on the SportsCenter Twitter account.

ROARING WATERS

Senior Khalyl Waters continues to impress this season. The combo guard is averaging 10.0 points this season and is shooting an impressive 36-of-39 (92.3%) percent from the line. Waters has recorded at least 20 points in two of his last three games. Waters scored a career-best 21 against Samford on Wednesday.

SAY ZAY!

Junior Zay Williams continues to be a force for the Trojans inside. Williams is averaging 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game this season. The forward has scored at least 10 points in five of Troy's seven games and has scored 63 points in his last four games. Troy is 3-12 the last two seasons when Zay doesn't play (10-14 when he does).

LEAVING HIS STAMP

Senior Nick Stampley recorded the best game of his Troy career Thursday against Samford. The forward scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, had five blocks and even appeared on SportsCenter! The forward is the first Trojan to record a double-double with five blocks since Tom Jervis had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. Stampley is also the first Trojan to record a five-block performance since Tim Owens recorded six against Middle Tennessee back in 2012.

HIT THE GLASS

The Trojans had two players record double-digit rebounds- Z. Williams and Stampley in two of the last three games. Last Sunday Williams recorded 13 rebounds while Stampley had 10. On Wednesday, Williams again had 13 rebounds while Stampley had 12. Sunday's instance was the first time Troy had two double-digit rebounders since Jordon Varnado (11) and Alex Hicks (14) each had at least 10 rebounds back on Jan. 26, 2019 against Louisiana.

Breakfast with the Trojans: Troy Basketball Travels to Auburn for Saturday Morning Contest

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alex Hicks

Duke Miles

Nick Stampley

Jordon Varnado

Khalyl Waters

Zay Williams

Kam Woods

Troy University Athletics

Breakfast with the Trojans: Troy Basketball Travels to Auburn for Saturday Morning Contest

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alex Hicks

Duke Miles

Nick Stampley

Jordon Varnado

Khalyl Waters

Zay Williams

Kam Woods

Related Videos