AUBURN AUTHORITY

Bruce Pearl, Jerod Haase excited to open 2015-16 season

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2014, file photo, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl talks to his players during an NCAAA college basketball game against Milwaukee in Auburn, Ala. Auburn's first-year coach is laboring through a season with a team that's new to him, and largely new to each other, but says, "I really enjoy this team." (AP Photo/AL.com, Julie Bennett, File)

BIRMINGHAM -- Bruce Pearl is finalizing Auburn's schedule and the long-discussed UAB series, which will open the 2015-16 season on Nov. 13, will be a daunting for the Tigers right out of the gate.

The Blazers, who won their opening NCAA Tournament game, will be a tough task for a revamped Tigers roster that lost four senior guards, including three starters in K.T. Harrell, Antoine Mason and K.C. Ross-Miller.

"It's a really tough opponent but you know, that doesn't matter," Pearl said after playing at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am at Shoal Creek on Wednesday. "The idea is Auburn and UAB have got history. UAB has got tremendous basketball history and I'm trying to build something. It's a game that we should play. There's no question about it, the fans want to play it."

Despite losing a program-worst seven straight home games to close the regular season, Auburn went 5-7 against teams in last year's NCAA Tournament and 8-14 against postseason teams.

UAB coach Jerod Haase is excited to open the season with Auburn, even with what should be a sellout crowd the night before the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.

"I think it'll be good for us, hopefully good for the state in terms of generating some excitement in basketball," Haase said. "It is (difficult) but it's also something that I want to be able to challenge our guys. If you're going to be a big time team you have to go on the road and play big time teams."

While Pearl expects another great home crowd, he knows the Tigers will have to be prepared to start the season strong.

"We lost a lot of games at home with a sellout crowd so the crowd's not going to beat UAB, I guarantee you," Pearl said. "But it'll be a game that we can point to early about we've got to be ready to play early, because we got to play UAB and then Colorado's coming in on the heels of that one."