Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
Officials: # Antinio Petty, # C. J. Washington, # Tracy Woodson
Attendance: 4196
Auburn 76, Nicholls State 52: KT Harrell scored a game-high 21 points and Chris Denson added 20 as the host Tigers cruised in the season opener for both teams.
Harrell shot 6-of-9 from the field to score 15 of his points in the first half. The Tigers, who went 15-for-19 from the free-throw line in the first half, led 37-29 at the break.
T.J. Carpenter and Jeremy Smith scored nine points apiece for Nicholls State, which shot 33.9 percent from the floor and hit just 10-of-22 free throws. Dantrell Thomas and Cade Towers each scored eight points.
Auburn won the rebounding battle 39-34 and had seven blocked shots to the Colonels' one. The Tigers used a 14-2 second-half run to build their lead to 68-41.
The Tigers shot 47.8 percent from the field. Auburn finished 28-of-41 from the foul line.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Auburn's Tony Barbee is 7-1 in season openers as a head coach, including a 3-1 mark with the Tigers. . . . The teams met for the first time in 1993, a 79-76 Nicholls State win, but Auburn has won the last five matchups. . . . Nicholls State is 2-45 all-time against teams from the SEC.
| Nicholls State | Auburn | |
| T.J. Carpenter 9 | Scoring | KT Harrell 21 |
| Pedro Maciel 3 | Assists | Tahj Shamsid-Deen 4 |
| JaMarkus Horace 7 | Rebounds | Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 8 |
| Jeremy Smith 4 | Free Throws Made | Chris Denson 11 |
| T.J. Carpenter 1 | Steals | Malcolm Canada 2 |
| Liam Thomas 1 | Blocks | Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 4 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Nicholls State | 54 | 33.9 | 6-24 | 10-22 | 11 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| Auburn | 76 | 47.8 | 4-15 | 28-41 | 14 | 38 | 7 | 5 | 13 |