The Auburn Tigers’ bumpy start to the 2026-27 campaign hit another snag on Friday night, as Arizona stormed into Neville Arena and walked out with an 80-69 win over the SEC squad.
The loss snapped Auburn’s 71-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents, according to ESPN, the longest active streak of its kind in the nation. The Tigers had not dropped a home non-conference game since falling to Oklahoma State on Jan. 30, 2016.
The victory also carried plenty of history for the Wildcats. Arizona picked up its first road win over an SEC team since beating Missouri in 2016, per ESPN.
Freshman guard Caleb Holt led the way for Tommy Lloyd’s squad with 24 points and nine rebounds. After entering the game just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, the Alabama native went 4-of-6 from deep in front of a hostile crowd in his home state.
Motiejus Krivas added 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Ivan Kharchenkov chipped in 19 points. Arizona controlled the glass with a 52-36 rebounding edge and led for roughly 20 straight minutes across both halves. The Wildcats also went 18-of-22 at the free-throw line to keep Auburn at bay late.
Auburn did its best to hang around. Thomas Dowd paced the Tigers with 15 points and nine rebounds, knocking down four 3-pointers, while Adam Olsen added 12 points off the bench. Narcisse Ngoy swatted six shots as Auburn racked up 13 blocks.
Article Continues BelowHowever, the Tigers struggled to find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 34.8% from the field. Kevin Overton had a rough night, going 2-of-13 for five points.
The loss is a tough pill to swallow for Steven Pearl in his second season as head coach, as the Tigers fell to 2-1. Arizona, meanwhile, improved to 3-1 after dropping its season opener to UCLA.
Auburn will look to regroup when it takes on West Virginia next. The Wildcats will return home to host No. 4 UConn on Wednesday.