As Kelvin Sampson pointed out after Houston's 74-69 loss to Auburn on Saturday, it's a long season. And Sampson purposely scheduled Auburn to get an early look at how battle-tested his team is. "I'm so glad we played this game,

Auburn (2-0) trailed Houston (1-0), 67-66 with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. The Tigers then connected on all six free throw opportunities with a jumper from Chad Baker-Mazara over the final 1:50 to seal the win. Auburn also made seven of its final eight shots from the field to seal the victory.

No. 4 Houston on the road, No. 5 Auburn let much of a 22-point first-half lead against Kent State slip away Wednesday night before emerging with

Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson each scored 18 points – the most the latter has totaled in two seasons on the Plains – to lead No. 5