Auburn, NC State Basketball Game Time Announced

The two-day challenge on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 will feature 16 games between the SEC and ACC, with nine games on Tuesday and seven on Wednesday. Other notable matchups outside of the Tigers’ matchup with NC State include Florida at Duke, Clemson at Alabama, North Carolina at Kentucky, and Louisville at Arkansas.

Both Auburn and NC State found themselves ranked in ESPN’s way-too-early top 25 – the Tigers landed at No. 14 while the Wolfpack just cracked the list at No. 24. In its entirety, the SEC-ACC challenge highlights 10 top-25 teams.

After a historically difficult nonconference schedule last season, the Tigers’ slate in 2025-26 has the potential to be even tougher. Before its clash with NC State in early December, Auburn faces Houston in Birmingham before heading to Las Vegas to play Oregon and Michigan in the 2025 Players Era Festival during the week of Thanksgiving.

After their battle with NC State, Steven Pearl and company travel to Arizona for a matchup with the Wildcats in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 6, followed by a trip to Indianapolis to face Purdue two weeks later on Dec. 20.

Excluding sophomore point guard Tahaad Pettiford, the Tigers boast an entirely new roster. With 10 incoming players and a new head coach (although not exactly new)  tasked with facing such a brutal nonconference slate off the bat, Pearl recognizes that this team will exhibit growing pains and may get exposed early in the season.

However, he believes this team has the ability to reach its full potential through hard work and taking steps forward every day.

“My expectation is that we have to get better every single week. That's been our messaging all summer,” Pearl said at his introductory press conference on Wednesday. “With a group of 10 new guys, that's really all you can ask for at this point. This is a team that is going to continue to get better week by week. We're going to get kicked in the face a few times early in the season because of the schedule.”

“It's going to do an unbelievable job at getting us ready for our conference play, but we're going to go through some adversity early. We are playing some really good teams. But as long as this team continues to learn from those experiences, continues to grow, this is a team that can beat anyone on our schedule. I’m just really excited to continue the work that we have put in so far and continue to get better.”

The Tigers are set to unofficially tip off the season with an exhibition game against Oklahoma State on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. CST in Birmingham, Ala.