Looking for a new weapon to fight boredom? Try Auburn basketball ...Middle East

Boredom is on the rise.

It’s an uncomfortable, yet necessary feeling, and our brain’s way of telling us, “We need to be doing something different.”

Phones and social media have a huge part to do with this rise in boredom. We’re missing out on too many fresh, engaging experiences in favor of artificial, short-form content. To combat this, whenever I feel bored and get the urge to open social media and mindlessly scroll, I’ve instead been looking to do something that features at least 1 of the 3 following qualities: Something unique, uncomfortable and/or unpredictable.

Watch an acclaimed movie you’ve never seen before. Go for a jog around the neighborhood. Call up an old friend.

Here’s a good one: Watch or otherwise follow the 2026 Auburn Tigers basketball team.

Talk about a perfect solution to boredom. Addressing our 3 criteria, Auburn is the most unique and unpredictable power conference team in the country, and I’m not sure it’s particularly close. While the “most uncomfortable team in the country” award probably goes to our friends over at Kansas, there’s nothing particularly comfortable about the Auburn Tigers’ start to the season or style of play, either.

I am truly fascinated by this Tigers team. Let’s explore why Auburn basketball is the perfect weapon to fight boredom.

1. Uncomfortable

Before we cover anything, let’s wind the clocks back about 5 months to late September, when Bruce Pearl announced his retirement after over 40 years in coaching. Pearl (65) brought Auburn basketball back from the dead and is one of the 10-15 most recognizable faces in the sport, so the news came as quite the surprise.

Especially considering his son was tabbed as the guy to take his place.

The nepotism allegations sparked by Bruce Pearl’s method of retirement have followed this Auburn team all season. It’s not a loud controversy; it isn’t making headlines every week like Charles Bediako over at Alabama, but ultimately, these Tigers — especially Steven Pearl — are trying to prove a lot of people wrong.

Will Auburn lock down an NCAA Tournament spot? Kalshi has the Tigers with a 70% chance to qualify for the Round of 64:

Alright, let’s take a look under the hood.

Auburn features a rotation of 7 key players. The Tigers are 334th in bench minutes per KenPom (every stat you read here is going to be from KP). Filip Jovic hasn’t seen 20 minutes in a game since mid-January. It’s pretty much been the starting 5 plus Elyjah Freeman with Jovic giving Sebastian Williams-Adams and KeShawn Murphy much-needed breathers.

Despite this, the Tigers have the 11th most efficient offense and, more understandably, the 100th most efficient defense in the country. That’s the widest gap in the SEC apart from Texas. Here comes the awkward part: Auburn is one of only two teams among the top 20 most efficient offenses that just cannot consistently hit a shot from anywhere on the court.

Auburn’s struggles as a shooting team are well-supported by the numbers. The 11th-most efficient offense in the country has the 149th best effective field goal percentage. The Tigers are a very underwhelming 53.3% on shots near the basket and mid-range, which ranks No. 117 in the country. It’s even worse from 3-point land: Auburn ranks No. 216 overall at 33.3% from outside the arc.

Very few teams play anything resembling Auburn basketball from an offensive perspective. Houston, as weird as that sounds, is a close candidate. The Cougars, like Auburn, boast a top 20 offense in terms of efficiency despite also possessing the No. 175 effective FG% in the nation. Houston ranks No. 159 from 2 and No. 206 from 3.

Pretty close so far! The difference? The Cougars, unlike Auburn, get practically nothing from the free throw line. Auburn relies on free throws for nearly 25% of its total points. Houston, on the other hand, relies on free throws for just 16.4% of its total points. Those numbers rank 13th and 336th overall, respectively.

2. Unique

If you want to understand Auburn’s offense, just watch Keyshawn Hall.

The former UCF forward averages 8.5 trips to the free throw line per game and has made more free throws than all but 3 SEC players have attempted this season. At an impressive 182-213 (85.4%) on the season, nobody in the SEC is more of a weapon from the charity stripe. To boot, he’s averaging 20.6 points per game, which ranks 20th in the nation.

Hall also, uh… likes to do things his own way. Hence the kind of shocking numbers at the free throw line and underwhelming efficiency from within the arc (94-201, 46%). For all the good Hall does for Auburn, there’s a lot of frustration and empty possessions sewn in there, too. However, since he can create his own shot and remains the most consistent scoring threat the Tigers have, Auburn has to take the good with the bad.

Now, the Tigers do have an offensive advantage. Hall, KeShawn Murphy and Filip Jovic are all good at grabbing misses. Elyjah Freeman isn’t too shabby, either. The Tigers boast the nation’s 8th best offensive rebound rate, and even better, they are the 28th best team in the country when it comes to avoiding offensive turnovers.

That’s a pretty excellent combination. Auburn may not always score after the first shot of its possession, but it does an exceptional job of limiting costly mistakes while creating extra opportunities on the offensive boards.

This is not the typical archetype of an elite offense, though. Good offensive teams are almost always good shooting teams, too. The Tigers are forcing a square peg through a round hole with a hammer.

The thing is, it’s technically working.

3. Unpredictable

Every once in a while, it all comes together. Auburn’s foundation paves the way for a truly special offensive explosion. I mean, just imagine Auburn’s potential if it could do all the stuff it’s currently great at and consistently put the ball in the hoop.

Arkansas fans found itself on the wrong end of Auburn’s top-end potential back in January.

Auburn, fresh off 2 brutal losses to Georgia and Texas A&M to start SEC play, responded by returning home and absolutely obliterating the No. 15 team in the country. The Tigers out-rebounded the Razorbacks by 9, shot nearly 60% from the field and drained 17 free throws in a 22-point win.

All that goes up, however, must come down. Four days later, the Tigers hit 41% of their field goal attempts in a 10-point loss to Mizzou.

A quick reminder here: Auburn is 15-12 on the season and absolutely reeks on the defensive end of the ball. The Tigers have faced the toughest schedule in college basketball, with nonconference games at Arizona, at Purdue, Michigan, Houston, St. John’s and NC State, and that’s not even mentioning the SEC slate they’ve had to deal with. Despite this, Auburn boasts wins over Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, NC State, St. John’s and Texas — all NCAA Tournament teams.

The Tigers can beat any given team on any given night. They can also lose to any team on any given night. And because they’re so good at everything that has to do with offense apart from actually scoring, Auburn games are often dictated by simply diabolical swings in one direction or the other.

Take Auburn’s recent win over Kentucky, for example. The Tigers scored exactly 21 points from the 10-minute mark of the first half to the 10-minute mark of the second half, then proceeded to score 28 points in the final 10 minutes to secure an absolute must-have win.

I can’t imagine this unpredictable nature is much fun at all for Auburn basketball fans, especially considering the teams they’re used to. But they certainly aren’t bored, either.

Looking for a new weapon to fight boredom? Try Auburn basketball Saturday Down South.

Hence then, the article about looking for a new weapon to fight boredom try auburn basketball was published today ( Tuesday 24/02/2026 - 05:15 PM ) and is available on SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

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