Auburn basketball vs. George Mason: Scouting report, score prediction for the season opener

AUBURN — Despite the highs Auburn basketball experienced last season, getting bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by a team seeded eight spots lower than you is bound to leave a sour taste in your mouth.

But now, more than seven months later, the Tigers are finally returning to the court, as they welcome George Mason to Auburn Arena on Monday (7 p.m. CT, SECN+) for the season opener.

Here's our scouting report for Monday's matchup.

The Patriots are an experienced bunch

Kim English, who played four years at Missouri before getting selected No. 44 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, is entering just his second season as coach at George Mason, but his players are battle tested.

The Patriots beat Maryland by five points last season, defeated Georgia handily and hung with Kansas down to the wire and they're bringing back a significant chunk of their production.

Senior forward Josh Oduro, who led George Mason with 17.7 points last season, joins Devon Cooper, a graduate student, and Davonte Gaines, a senior, as impactful returnees. The trio combined for over 53.5% of George Mason's scoring.

"These guys bring a lot of people back," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Friday. "So, when you think about our team, we’ve got a few veterans, but we also have some really young players. When Yohan Traore is out there, he’s going (to be) going against a guy that’s four or five years older than he is."

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Allen Flanigan's return

Perhaps the biggest X-factor for Auburn this season is senior Allen Flanigan. The wing recently returned to the team after a multi-week absence caused by what Pearl only explained as "family, personal reasons." Whatever the case, he's back now, and he's over a year removed from a surgery that repaired his damaged right Achilles tendon.

As a sophomore before the injury, Flanigan averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He was clearly not the same after returning in the middle of last season, though, as he averaged just 6.3 points and his field-goal percentage dipped below 40%.

But against Alabama-Huntsville in an exhibition Wednesday, Flanigan looked good, dropping 11 points and four assists and showing off some of his athleticism.

"It was great to see Al move like he moved," Pearl said. "And he’s consistently been practicing effectively. (I’m) particularly happy with four assists and two turnovers."

George Mason wants the 3-point shot

The Patriots took an average of 26.1 shots per game from 3-point range last season, ranking top 35 nationally, and converted on 35.8% of those attempts. And in 2017, when George Mason lost 79-63 in Auburn, they attempted 26 shots from long range.

The score of that 2017 game is deceiving. The Tigers jumped out to a 21-point lead early, but the Patriots stormed back and took the lead in the second half. Regardless, Pearl is expecting George Mason to lean on shooting it from deep once again.

“They’ve got great shooters," he said. "They’ll put three or four guys on the floor at the same time that can really shoot the ball."

Prediction

Auburn 72, George Mason 58: It's the first game of the season, so there's sure to be some kinks to work out on both sides, but the preseason experience Auburn enjoyed in Israel should prove useful. Not exactly a blowout, but Auburn should be in control for the majority of the game.

Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball vs. George Mason: Scouting report, score prediction