Texas basketball (11-3, 0-1 SEC) didn't keep up with the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies in the SEC opener at Reed Arena in College Station last weekend. Texas and head coach Rodney Terry fell to the rival Aggies in the program's first-ever official SEC conference game on Jan. 4 by a convincing score of 80-60.
The next matchup ahead for the Longhorns won't get any easier in SEC play, despite this one coming at home in the inaugural SEC conference game at the Moody Center on Jan. 7 against the No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers (13-1, 1-0 SEC).
Texas begins SEC play with five straight matchups against top-15 ranked teams in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. And the next two contests pit the Longhorns against the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the country, respectively.
Over the course of the next four or five days, the Longhorns host No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 7 and then the No. 1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Jan. 11 at the Moody Center in Austin.
Here's a look at the TV/streaming information, game time, betting odds, and game prediction for the SEC home opener for Texas vs. No. 2 Auburn at the Moody Center in Austin, TX, on Jan. 7.
How to watch Texas basketball vs. Auburn
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio/Audio Stream: Longhorn Radio Network
Game time: 8 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Brian Custer and Daymeon Fishback will call the action live between Texas and Auburn on ESPN2.
Craig Way and Eddie Oran will be on the radio broadcast on Longhorn Radio Network.
Texas basketball vs. Auburn betting odds
Texas opens as a 10.5-point underdog against Auburn at home on Jan. 7 (per FanDuel). The over/under is 150.5 points.
The Tigers are favored in the moneyline (-530) against the Longhorns (+390).
Texas is 7-7-0 against the spread this season (per TeamRankings). Auburn is 9-4-1 against the spread.
Texas vs. Auburn prediction
In this matchup against the Tigers, Texas will have to deal with one of the best bigs in the nation in preseason AP All-American super senior Johni Broome. Leading the SEC in rebounds per game (11.1) and blocks (2.7), Broome has continued to establish himself as one of the most dominant post presences in the nation in all of college basketball.
The Tigers already have four ranked victories this season, including two by double digits against the No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers and No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels.
After allowing 80 points against the Aggies over the weekend in the SEC opener on the road, the Longhorns have an extremely tall task defending the No. 1 ranked offense in the conference against Auburn tomorrow night.
Auburn ranks No. 1 in the nation in offensive rating (127.6). Head coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers like to move the ball around and play up-tempo in transition and spacing out the floor in the settled half-court offense.
The Tigers have an SEC-best five players scoring in double figures this season, led by Broome at a career-high clip of 18.6 points per game.
Texas needs more out of its top scorers, like freshman guard Tre Johnson and junior guard Jordan Pope to have a chance against one of the most experienced and proven teams in the nation against Auburn.
Terry and the Longhorns staff need to get a full 40 minutes out of this rotation. Texas was tied with the Aggies 37-37 at halftime in the SEC opener before falling behind by 20 points behind a big Texas A&M run in the second half.
Texas A&M beat Texas in the points in the paint battle by a margin of 48-16. Auburn has an even more potent frontcourt than the Aggies, which could spell trouble for the Longhorns if Texas doesn't play more physical and fundamentally sound when boxing out down low and defending the paint at the rim.