STEPPING UP—Southeastern’s Damon Forest drives around a Millsaps defender in the Lions’ 85-56 victory earlier this month. The Lions face a bigger challenge tonight when they travel to Auburn. By John Lenz

Southeastern head men's basketball coach Jim Yarbrough has taken a look at his schedule to date and is willing to match it with any in the Southland Conference.

The Lions (6-5) have already played Minnesota, currently the 21st ranked team with a 12-0 record, a 9-1 Arkansas squad, a Texas Tech team that is 9-4 and Lipscomb which recently knocked off Indiana.

Southeastern has held its own with those teams, losing at Arkansas in overtime and staying close to Minnesota before losing 80-71 last Wednesday. The Lions' worst loss came at Florida Atlantic, 72-58.

Southeastern's tough road schedule continues tonight when the Lions travel to Auburn. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Tigers (8-4) have won five straight, including an 82-40 win over Alabama A&M Monday.

"I think we have played a pretty tough schedule and we have competed pretty favorably," Yarbrough said. "I'm hoping when conference play begins, we can shoulder up with everybody in the league and still feel pretty confident. We can say we've been to some tough places and played some tough games. Auburn gives us that opportunity again. It's a game that if we put all the pieces of the puzzle together, we can win. But it's a game too that if you have a few bad minutes, if they get confident and come together, they certainly have the ability to beat you and they have all the advantages of being at home and trying to keep their streak going."

Auburn has been winning with defense, allowing 51.0 points over the past five games. Opponents are shooting 31.9 percent over that stretch, including a 3-for-23 performance by Alabama A&M in the second half Monday.

"They are a tough and well-coached team," Yarbrough said. "I think (Auburn head coach) Jeff Lebo is willing to change his defenses until he finds something that bothers you. They play pretty sound man-to-man defense but they will also press you a little bit. They will play a half-court 1-3-1, they will play man-to-man but they will run and jump you in the half court and double team your ball handler. They will double team your post players. They don't mind trying to keep you off balance defensively. I think we have played against teams that have done a number of those things to us but to have a team that can continually do it during the game will be a different challenge for us. It will be interesting to see how our guys respond and hopefully they respond well."

Senior forward Korvotney Barber leads Auburn with 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. Junior guards Tay Waller and DeWayne Reed are averaging 12.8 and 11.3 points, respectively.

"They're a team that might be trying to find a rhythm a little bit but they are coming on," Yarbrough said of an Auburn team that started 3-4. "I hope having played last night, they look past us a little bit and not concentrate as much and get a chance to stay in the ballgame."

Southeastern did just that against Minnesota last Wednesday in a game that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes. The Lions out-rebounded the Gophers 31-28 and shot 48 percent from the floor. Kevyn Green, the team's leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, scored 22 points to pace Southeastern with Patrick Sullivan adding 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Sullivan, who leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots, is next in scoring at 12.2 points followed by Warrell Span (11.7), Chris Cyprian (8.5) and Robert Tibbs (7.4).

"Against Minnesota, I thought we shot the ball reasonable well but it wasn't a great night," Yarbrough said. "I thought we've had some better shooting nights. If we shoot the ball well, we will give ourselves a chance."

Yarbrough said another concern for tonight's game is turnovers, especially coming off the eight-day break.

"I think low turnovers is big," Yarbrough said. "I don't think we can come in here and throw the ball all over the arena. You're trying to want to do that sometimes after the Christmas break and getting the guys back."

But the biggest key will be the Lions' defense in transition, something they have struggled with their past two games against Jackson State and Minnesota.

"Our transition defense has to be better," Yarbrough said. "They are a team that likes to get out. They like to run. They want to push the basketball and they have some very quick goals so it's going to be a big, big challenge for us."

Southeastern will take on its second straight Southeastern Conference opponent when it travels to LSU Saturday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.