The Jungle - Auburn Basketball Podcast with Matt Donaldson and Jackson Garrett

The boys are back for Season 4! It is almost time for another season of Auburn Basketball, and the Tigers are ranked #11 in the preseason AP Poll and picked near the top of a super competitive SEC. We talk offseason narratives, the thrilling out of conference schedule, and this year's roster.

The boys are back to discuss the departures, returners, and new arrivals for the Auburn Men's Basketball team entering the 2024-2025 season, as well as a general vibe check after last year and looking ahead to this season.

The boys took some time off to digest Auburn's loss to Yale, but return in this episode to look back at the season that just finished - with the high of an SEC tournament championship, and the low of losing in the first round of March Madness. It was another successful season for Bruce Pearl and his staff, despite the painful ending.

Auburn answered every physical challenge and won 3 games in 3 days to win another SEC Tournament Title! The guys discuss the latest basketball championship and react to the NCAA Tournament draw that was released earlier today. Auburn is a 4 seed and will play Yale on Friday in Spokane, Washington.

In one of our loosest episodes, all 4 hosts address their SEC takes we made in our SEC preview episode. We also breakdown the seeding and competition in the upcoming SEC tournament in Nashville.

Matt joined Ben from inside his car after celebrating Senior Night with a win and a season sweep of the Rival Bulldogs! Denver Jones led the way with 21 points (Seven 3s)! to win MVP. Johni Broome finished another game with 5 assists to lead a season high 29 total assists. Auburn will be the 4 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament, and play either South Carolina, Arkansas, or Vanderbilt.

A late game featuring a lot of whistles and reviews from the officials ended up in a 101-74 victory for Auburn in Columbia, Missouri. Jaylin Williams led Auburn with 17 points on only 8 shots, but our MVP was Johni Broome who added 15 points and 8 rebounds and impacted the game in so many ways. 6 Tigers scored in double figures as Auburn turned a 5 point halftime lead into a 27 point blow out win in the second half. At the time of this recording, Auburn still has an outside chance at the regular season SEC title as they return home to host Georgia in the regular season finale on Saturday.

Auburn returned home and took care of business against Mississippi State on Saturday, led by stifling defense that helped the Tigers to a 39-22 halftime lead that they did not relinquish. Johni Broome led the Tigers with 17 points and 6 rebounds, but our MVP was Denver Jones, who hit three 3 pointers, scored 15 points, and played terrific perimeter defense. Auburn is still mathematically alive for the regular season SEC title, and plays their final road game at Missouri on Tuesday night.

Auburn traveled to Knoxville and took first place Tennessee to the wire, but couldn't hang on to a second half lead in a very well-played game on both sides. Dalton Knecht had 39 points, including 25 in the final 12 minutes, to steal the game for the Vols. Johni Broome led the Tigers in points, rebounds and assists. Jaylin Williams, KD Johnson, Denver Jones, and Chad Baker-Mazara all scored in double figures as well. Auburn returns home on Saturday to face Mississippi State.

In a special crossover episode, Ben and Ryan join Jordan and Grant from the "Vawlin' Out" podcast to hype up the latest edition of the Big Orange Brawl! #11 Auburn travels to Knoxville to take on #4 Tennessee in a match-up with massive implications for SEC Regular Season Title race Wednesday at 7pm. You can catch Vawlin' Out wherever you get your podcasts, as well as on YouTube!

Without Jaylin Williams, the Tigers traveled to Athens and used their depth to their advantage yet again, defeating Georgia 97-76. Chad Baker-Mazara did it all for Auburn, scoring a career high 25 points, along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers. Johni Broome added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Aden Holloway made 5 three pointers to break out of his slump. Chaney Johnson added 16 points and 4 rebounds in his first start at the power forward position. With Alabama's loss today, Auburn is now only one game out of first place in the SEC race and travels to Knoxville on Wednesday to play the other first place team.

It was a night to forget for Auburn fans, as Auburn took their first loss in Neville Arena this year to Kentucky and may have also lost Jaylin Williams for the season. A brutal shooting night and early defensive lapses were too much to overcome. Johni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara led Auburn with 14 points, but the Tigers couldn't get any closer than 5 points in the second half. Auburn gets this mid-week off before traveling to Georgia on Saturday.

Auburn blew out the #11 team in the nation by 40 points at Neville Arena on Wednesday, behind the strength an impressive 46-19 run to finish the final 18 minutes of the first half. Jaylin Williams was our MVP and led all scorers with 23 points, while Johni Broome poured in 21 points in a dominant second half. The two big men combined to shoot 9-12 from behind the arc. Auburn (20-5, 9-3 SEC) remains in the regular season championship hunt and hosts Kentucky on Saturday.

This episode is a short one, as Ben is hosting solo and Auburn turned in one of their worst performances of the season, including the lowest scoring first half of the year. Chaney Johnson scored 9 points and pulled in 10 rebounds, but Jaylin Williams was held without a point for the entire first half. Johni Broome led the way with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks as he continues to push for SEC Player of the Year.

Auburn got their revenge against Alabama with a massive 99-81 win in Neville Arena to pull into a tie for first place in the SEC championship race. Jaylin Williams scored a career high 26 points to lead all scorers, but Johni Broome was named our MVP with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. Auburn (19-4, 8-2 SEC) now travels to Gainesville, where they haven't won since 1996.

Auburn turned a 14 point first half deficit into a 14 point Quad 1 road win on Saturday, winning 91-77 in Oxford. 6 Tigers scored in double figures, led by Jaylin Williams with 16 points. But our MVP was Johni Broome 15 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks, as a dominant second half led Auburn to a season sweep over the Flanigans and the Rebels. Auburn is now 18-4 (7-2 SEC) at the halfway point of the SEC season, and will host first place Alabama on Wednesday night.

A much needed return to Neville Arena after a tough road trip brought a 81-54 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Jaylin Williams led all scorers with 21 points on 9 shots and Johni Broome had another double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. But the big story was Denver Jones scoring 19 points and hitting 4 three pointers. Auburn (17-4, 6-2 SEC) plays at Ole Miss on Saturday, seeking their first Quad 1 victory of the season.

A lackluster offensive performance led to another close road loss against Mississippi State on Saturday, 64-58. Johni Broome led the Tigers with 14 points and 6 rebounds, but a -14 defecit in points in the paint and a -16 rebounding margin was too much to overcome. Auburn is now 5-2 in the SEC and will return home to play Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

A 14 point halftime deficit was too much to overcome for the Tigers, as their comeback bid came up just short against Alabama. Johni Broome was dominant with 25 points and 14 rebounds, but there wasn't a lot of consistent offense outside of him. First half turnovers and shooting 20% from 3 spelled doom for Auburn in this one. Auburn remains tied for first place in the SEC and now will travel to Starkville on Saturday.

Ryan and Jackson breakdown the extension of our 11 win streak. We take the sole lead in the SEC!

Auburn got a big monkey off their back by easily defeating Vanderbilt in Nashville 80-65. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead and built a 17 point advantage at halftime, in large part due to 17 first half points from Jaylin Williams. He didn't miss a shot from the field, from three point range, or from the free throw line, scoring 21 points on only 7 shots. Johni Broome also contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds as Auburn moved to 4-0 in the SEC. Next, Auburn returns home to host Ole Miss and the Flanigans on Saturday evening.

Despite seeing a 28 point second half lead dwindle to as few as 8, Auburn turned up the heat thanks to a fiery performance by Jungle MVP Chad Baker-Mazara. John Broome added 18 points and 7 Rebounds while Dylan Cardwell blocked 4 shots. Auburn had 20 assists on 28 baskets and forced 16 steals against the SEC's team leader in Steals

Listen in for great information from Coach Ira Bowman on how we are pulling off this great run in 23-24. Recruiting talk, Scouting talk, Golden age of Auburn basketball talk, and of course Jackson asked him about his opinion on heat check time outs.

In a physical, low-scoring game against the Aggies, Auburn (13-2, 2-0 SEC) battled back after giving up an 8 point halftime lead to win 66-55 in Neville Arena. Jaylin Williams was our MVP with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, as well as the dagger three pointer to put the game away. The veterans on this team really carried the Tigers to a gritty win on a night when the shots just weren't falling. Next up, the Tigers host LSU on Saturday.

We just gave Arkansas the worst loss in Bud Walton history. Jackson and Ben break it all down.

This episode contains everything you need to know about the SEC for 2024. All the wins and losses for future sports betting. Also contains the Trial of Jaylin Williams. Shocking results. Riveting arguments. A death. WDE.

Auburn continued the nation's longest winning streak of non-conference home games with a 20 point victory over the Penn Quakers. Johni Broome was our MVP, with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting 8-9 and 3-4 from 3 point land. Chad Baker-Mazara added 16 points, while KD Johnson and Denver Jones combined for 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 0 turnovers. Auburn is now 11-2 and ranked in the Top 25 for the 7th straight season as they enter SEC play on the road against Arkansas on Saturday.

The Tigers' front court dominated— Jaylin Williams led all scorers with 21 points and Johni Broome added 18. Auburn now owns 2 of the top 7 offensive efficiency performance in this history of KenPom— since 1998! Happy New Year! ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?!

On a night where KD and Jaylin both scored their 1000th career points, we cruised to a 20 pt victory. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

USC brought in a star studded cast of players but they were no match for Auburn's depth and Neville Arena's energy. Jackson is back after missing a couple games and he's joined by our other NYC resident host Ben Young III. War Eagle!

Fresh off his retirement from 909 wins (833 D1), 8 Conference Titles, 9 Coach of the Year Awards, and 10 NCAA Tourney appearances, Auburn and Basketball Legend Coach Cliff Ellis sits down with Matt and Jackson to talk about his journey. We had some technical difficulties, but be sure to listen to the end for an incredible Auburn/Pop-culture crossover! Coach Ellis led teams at South Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, and Coastal Carolina to some of their best seasons ever, and led the 1999 flying tigers to an SEC Championship and a #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest active coach in Men's Division 1 Basketball. He ranks second all time in wins at Auburn with 186.

Auburn's depth and defensive intensity were too much for UNC-Asheville on Wednesday as the Tigers moved to 7-2 with a 87-62 victory at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Tre Donaldson led the way with 15 points, but our MVP was Chad Baker-Mazara who had 11 second-half points to put the game out of reach and a team-leading 7 rebounds. All 11 players contributed as Auburn's depth was on full display. Now Auburn will return home to host Bronny James and USC on Sunday.

Auburn turned an early 12 point deficit into an 18 point halftime lead, as hot shooting from multiple scorers and suffocating defense completely turned this game around. Jaylin Williams and Aden Holloway had 24 points each, but KD Johnson was our MVP due to his tenacious defense, efficient offense, and infectious confidence. It was a big neutral site victory for the Tigers, who now will travel to Huntsville to play UNC-Asheville.

The Tigers traveled to Boone, NC and lost a close game to the Appalachian St Mountaineers 69-64. Johni Broome was fantastic yet again, with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Tre Donaldson contributed 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Auburn built an early 9 point lead but eventually trailed by 11 midway through the second half. They cut the lead to 3 with less than 4 minutes to play, but couldn't score enough to steal the win. Next, Auburn plays Indiana on Saturday in Atlanta in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event.

We celebrate 100 episodes of our podcast with Jonathan Guidry from Redmont Vodka, AU twitter personality Pablo Escobarner, and former VP of student section Michael Floyd! We also break down Auburn's win over Virginia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Johni Broome was dominant with 30 points and 13 rebounds. The Tigers turned 21 Virginia Tech turnovers into 30 points and stifled the Hokies defensively. Auburn travels to Boone, NC to play Appalachian State next.

Auburn dominated the first half and coasted a little too comfortably to a 30 point win over in-state foe Alabama A&M. The Tigers D was suffocating, and an unexpected star emerged. Ben hosts solo while the guys enjoy family time. Happy Thanksgiving from The Jungle!

Auburn played an incredibly balanced game, and Johni Broome once again led the Tigers in scoring. Auburn wins an in-season tournament in back-to-back years, and wins the Legends Classic for the second time! Jackson and Ben go live from the streets of Brooklyn

Auburn's stars shown brightly on the hardwood of the Brooklyn Nets and won their first match of the Legends Classic 83-59. MVP Aden Holloway hit 4 of 5 three pointers and was named after hosts Ben and Jackson went live with fans outside the Barclay's Center!

Auburn wins a bit of a hangover game, kicks off the 2023/24 Neville Arena season with a 15 point win. Guest hosts Ryan Norman and Ben Young recap

Auburn and Baylor played a high level college basketball game to open their seasons on Tuesday night. The Bears won 88-82 and dominated the last few minutes. Auburn's depth, athleticism, and new offensive firepower were on display. Aden Holloway led Auburn with 19 points and 6 assists off the bench, while Johni Broome had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Foul trouble plagued the Tigers and put Baylor in the bonus very early in the second half. Auburn returns home from South Dakota to take on Southeastern Louisiana at Neville Arena on Friday.

Jackson interviews Auburn legend Marquis Daniels who was a two time All SEC players at Auburn, a 10 year NBA vet, and now a coach on Bruce Pearls staff. One of the last remaining coaches on staff that hadn't been on the podcast.

The boys are back with a season preview! We are one week away from Auburn's exhibition game and less than two weeks away from the season opener against Baylor. We go over the offseason storylines, take a look at the new players on the roster, talk about the schedule and make some predictions on the starting lineup and other topics. Welcome back college hoops!

The Jungle Pod re-emerges from the offseason with a fun episode discussing the new Auburn basketball uniforms for the upcoming season with the man who designed them, Under Armour designer Derrick Turner! We couldn't talk Auburn uniforms without also inviting Clint Richardson, who runs the Auburn Uniform Database. As you might imagine, we also talked old Auburn uniforms and future potential ideas as well. Enjoy!

The boys are back in town to discuss Auburn basketball's roster movement in the last couple months as we finally know who will be on Auburn's roster for the 2023-2024 season. We talk about the new players, the returning players, the players who left, and how good we think this team can be looking ahead to next year. This episode was also livestreamed on YouTube if you're interested in watching the video over there.

Join us for a casual discussion of the high points, low points, most valuable players, and storylines from this past basketball season. We also discuss the potential movement of current parts of the roster as the transfer portal process rolls on. Thanks to everyone who listened to our show this year! We will continue with more interviews and off-season episodes in the coming months.

In honor of FAU's upset of Tennessee, we decided to repost our interview with FAU assistant and former Auburn player KT Harrell from February 2022. Enjoy!

Auburn managed to shoot a high percentage and build a 10 point halftime lead against #1 seed Houston, but all the shooting percentages went south in the second half as Houston used its elite defense and great free throw shooting to eliminate their deficit and pull away late. Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams led the way with 14 points each, but both missed more shots than usual and left points on the table. Auburn's season ends in the second round of the NCAA tournament, and now the conversation will turn to recruiting and the potential turnover on this roster.

Auburn relied on their half court defense and some timely 3 point shooting in the second half to control their first round matchup against Iowa in Birmingham. Johni Broome was our MVP with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Wendell Green Jr took care of the ball and was perfect at the free throw line to finish the game. Tre Donaldson and KD Johnson were terrific off the bench, and Allen Flanigan had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Auburn will play on Saturday in Birmingham against either Houston or Northern Kentucky.

The Auburn Tigers have made The Big Dance for the fifth time in six seasons, and were selected to play as a 9 seed in the Midwest Region. They will play close to home in Birmingham of all places against Iowa! Jackson, Matt, and Ben break down the tournament draw and preview the Hawkeyes, as well as take a quick look back at Auburn's tough loss to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament.

Auburn finally got a signature win with a victory over Tennessee on Senior Day in Neville Arena. They held the Volunteers without a field goal for the last 6 minutes of the game in route to a 79-70 win. Wendell Green Jr had a game-high 24 points and Johni Broome had 17 points and 7 rebounds, but the real story was the performance of the Auburn seniors. Jaylin Williams had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists while Allen Flanigan scored 16 and hit multiple three pointers. Zep Jasper played tenacious defense against Santiago Vescovi down the stretch. Auburn will now travel to Nashville for the SEC Tournament and will begin play on Thursday night.

Another game, another brutal close loss against a quality opponent. Auburn led for the first 35 minutes of the game against #2 Alabama, but let a 17 point second half lead slip away. The Tigers were able to force overtime, but eventually Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams, and Allen Flanigan all fouled out. KD Johnson led the team with 21 points off the bench. Auburn continues to fight hard, but wins in close games have been hard to come by. They return home for the season finale to host Tennessee, in another game that could clinch an NCAA tournament berth.