11 takeaways from Auburn basketball’s preseason exhibition against Oklahoma State

BIRMINGHAM — Steven Pearl‘s debut as Auburn basketball‘s head coach was certainly one to remember, despite the result.

The Tigers faced Oklahoma State in exhibition play on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at Boutwell Auditorium and lost 97-95, but not without a fight. It took one overtime period for the Cowboys to put Auburn away, and a late comeback by the home team had a crowd of 5,000 on its feet late into the evening.

A win would’ve been nice, sure, but it’s certainly a good starting point for Pearl and his first team, which walked away from a dramatic defeat with plenty on which to build.

Here’s 11 takeaways from Auburn’s first action of the 2025-26 season.

Who was in Steven Pearl’s first starting five?

The first starting five of the Steven Pearl was as expected:

Where’s Auburn basketball health-wise?

Murphy (knee) and fellow big man Emeka Opurum (back) have dealt with some lingering issues, but both saw the court. Murphy played 21 minutes in the starting role, though he went down hard late while going for a rebound on Oklahoma’s end. He was helped off the court by trainers with 4:23 remaining.

While Opurum was on the floor, he played a single minute.

How was Tahaad Pettiford’s sophomore debut?

Pettiford was one of four Tigers in double figures, finishing with 17 points, but his shooting performance was far from efficient, going 4 for 16 (25%) from the field. He also made just two of his nine 3-point attempts but found seven points at the free-throw line.

Keyshawn Hall took over for Auburn basketball

Auburn entered halftime with Hall as its leading scorer on 3-of-8 shooting. He was scoreless through much of the second half, then spent nearly five minutes of game time on the bench after picking up his fourth whistle.

He returned with 3:49 remaining in regulation. After that? He dropped another nine, carrying a run of 14-straight points for Auburn into overtime. He ended the night with 26 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes, shooting 50% from the field, 66.7% from 3 and 71.4% at the line.

Elyjah Freeman poised for quick jump from Division II to SEC

Freeman finished with 16 points, and he seemed to settle in the more he played. He scored six of his total points on 2-of-5 shooting in the first half but came back with a 10-point second. He shot 60% from the field in the final 20 minutes of regulation, and he finished with three assists and no turnovers.

Sebastian Williams-Adams was Auburn basketball’s most notable freshman

With Simon Walker sidelined, Kaden Magwood and Williams-Adams were Auburn’s lone freshmen to see the floor. They combined for just nine points, but six of those were Williams-Adams’. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and tallied a block and steal each.

Auburn basketball’s depth put to the test early

Beyond the Murphy injury, both Hall and Pettiford were whistled for their fourth fouls within seconds of each other, both coming off the court with 8:07 remaining. At the time, Auburn trailed by six points. It closed out regulation by outscoring the Cowboys 25-19. Seven Tigers played at least 20 minutes in the loss.

Auburn basketball’s offense productive but far from efficient

Auburn nearly hit the century mark in three periods against the Cowboys, but that didn’t mean every shot fell. The Tigers hit 36% of their attempts from the field and 30% from distance. In a way, it made the performance that much more impressive, but the shooting certainly needs to, and likely will, improve moving forward.

Auburn basketball’s defense certainly has plenty to work on

Oklahoma State was far more efficient scoring, but the Cowboys made easy work at times of Auburn on the interior. They tallied 48 points in the paint and made 46% of their shots.

Did Auburn basketball look like the pass-first team of last season?

The Tigers did finish with a net positive in assists to turnovers, but they had 13 of the former to 10 of the latter. Pettiford, Kevin Overton and Kaden Magwood each had a pair of turnovers. Murphy and Freeman matched a team best with three assists, and Pettiford and Magwood had two each.

Auburn basketball had some good, some bad at the free-throw line

Wednesday’s exhibition was a whistle-fest, with 56 combined fouls. Oklahoma State had 34 of those, leading to 49 free-throw attempts for Auburn. The Cowboys had the better percentage at the line marginally, missing eight attempts, but while the Tigers made 71% of their free throws, they left 14 points at the stripe.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter. To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 11 takeaways from Auburn basketball’s exhibition vs. Oklahoma State

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