The Auburn Tigers are off to a strong start to the season after beating Southeastern Louisiana and Appalachian State by over 20 points each, but their biggest test yet is still to come, as on Friday, the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats will travel to Neville Arena to take on the still-unranked Tigers.

Needless to say, this is a big-time matchup for the Tigers through the lens of their season expectations, but there is quite a bit else at stake for Steven Pearl’s squad in this matchup. The Tigers are early favorites over the Wildcats, with a 57% chance to win according to ESPN’s analytics, and a win on Friday would continue two major streaks that the Tigers lead the country in.

For starters, the Tigers currently have the longest active winning streak in college basketball after winning seven games in a row, dating back to their regular-season finale loss to Tennessee last season. The Tigers, of course, won all five games they played in the NIT, and with Michigan’s recent loss to UConn, the Tigers will have a chance to own the longest streak in basketball for as long as they can remain undefeated.

Additionally, the Tigers currently own the longest at-home non-conference winning streak in the country, as their win over Appalachian State pushed their streak to 69 games, but they’ll need to get through the Wildcats if they want to push that number to 70 and maintain the longest streak in basketball.

After Friday, the Tigers will not play another ranked team until January, making the Wildcats the biggest threat to both of the Tigers’ streaks in 2026. If the Tigers can pull out a win, they’ll be poised for a very strong start to the season, though if they lose and snap their streaks, they’ll still have plenty of opportunities to find their rhythm again.

A few things will need to go right for the Tigers to win this game, as they have shown incredible promise but still have a few key issues. For one, the Tigers’ big men, Narcisse Ngoy and Bukky Oboye, will need to dominate the paint while staying out of foul trouble, as they have struggled to find the balance between the two early on this season.

Additionally, the Tigers’ guard play, especially their depth pieces, will need to be able to keep up with Arizona’s high-flying offense, which has averaged 92.7 points per game so far this season and has already had a wake-up call against UCLA in their season-opener.

The Tigers will have the advantage of playing in Neville Arena on Friday, but the Wildcats will do everything they can to make sure that, even with home-court advantage, the Tigers struggle to manage their level of play.

Steven Pearl’s first potentially season-defining matchup is scheduled for this Friday at 8:00 p.m. CT, and it’ll be broadcast on ESPN2.