AUBURN, Ala. – For the first time since beating Georgia on Senior Day March 9 before winning the SEC Tournament, No. 11 Auburn returns to Neville Arena to play Florida Atlantic in a charity exhibition on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.

Two seasons removed from a Final Four appearance, Florida Atlantic presents the challenge Auburn coach Bruce Pearl is looking for ahead of the Tigers' season opener Wednesday against Vermont at Tipoff on The Plains.

“They have SEC size up front, length, veterans, older guards, good depth and are versatile defensively,” Pearl said. “We have to play better against Florida Atlantic than we did against Furman to win the game.”

Transfer guard Miles Kelly, who missed Auburn's 83-62 exhibition win Sunday against Furman, will make his Tigers debut after recovering from an illness.

“He’s not going to play a lot of minutes just because he’s coming back and getting in shape,” Pearl said. “It will be great to have him back after a few weeks off.”

In addition to Kelly, Friday's exhibition also marks the debuts at Neville Arena for transfer point guard JP Pegues and freshmen Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard.

“Both will make real contributions for us,” Pearl said of Pettiford and Howard. “Both have different speed, athleticism and jumping abilities and will be absolute crowd favorites because of their athleticism.”

Friday's exhibit benefits Auburn University's Melton Scholars Program, which increases access for underrepresented students and supports them throughout their Auburn experience.

“I’m really excited about it,” Pearl said. “Everyone who buys a ticket is actually donating to the scholarship program, which I think is really cool.”

While Pearl hopes a return to Auburn's home court will benefit the Tigers' 3-point shooting, she remains focused on what's happening on the other end of the court.

“A year ago we were one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Pearl said. “Defense travel, and I hope we can count on that this year.”

Parking lot for Florida Atlantic

With home football against Vanderbilt on Saturday, the East Coliseum Lot will be closed to fans attending Friday's men's basketball exhibition game. Please see the park map for further details.

*Please note that a parking permit is required for parking in the arena parking lot and levels 3 and 4 of the stadium deck for the exhibition game.

Jeff Shearer is a senior writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer