# 1981–82 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1981–82 college basketball season. The team was coached by Sonny Smith, who was in his fourth season.
The Tigers' key signee was freshman Charles Barkley from Leeds High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Other key newcomers were junior college transfers Odell Mostellar and .Earl Hayes
The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 14-14, 7–11 in SEC play. The team advanced to the second round of the 1982 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, where they lost to Kentucky.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 30, 1981* | | Mississippi College | W 88–54 | 1–0 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 2, 1981* | | Stetson | W 60–59 | 2–0 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 5, 1981* | | Austin Peay | W 67–56 | 3–0 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 7, 1981* | | at Tennessee Tech | W 88–61 | 4–0 | Eblen Center Cookeville, Tennessee |
| Dec 12, 1981 | | at Tennessee | L 79–86 | 4–1 (0–1) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 19, 1981* | | at Florida State | W 77–76 | 5–1 | Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 21, 1981* | | Cal State Chico | W 104–61 | 6–1 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 29, 1981* | | vs. William & Mary Iron Duke Classic | L 48–58 | 6–2 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Dec 30, 1981* | | at Duke Iron Duke Classic | L 71–72 | 6–3 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Jan 2, 1982 | | Ole Miss | W 75–71 | 7–3 (1–1) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 6, 1982 | | at No. 3 Kentucky | L 71–83 | 7–4 (1–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 9, 1982 | | Florida | W 80–60 | 8–4 (2–2) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 13, 1982 | | at Vanderbilt | L 68–78 | 8–5 (2–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 16, 1982 | | Mississippi State | W 62–49 | 9–5 (3–3) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 20, 1982 | | at LSU | L 68–69 | 9–6 (3–4) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 23, 1982 | | Georgia | W 82–74 | 10–6 (4–4) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 27, 1982 | | No. 13 Alabama | L 65–67 | 10–7 (4–5) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 30, 1982 | | at Ole Miss | L 57–64 | 10–8 (4–6) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Feb 3, 1982 | | No. 9 Kentucky | W 83–81 $^{OT}$ | 11–8 (5–6) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 6, 1982 | | at Florida | L 66–69 | 11–9 (5–7) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 10, 1982 | | Vanderbilt | L 60–71 | 11–10 (5–8) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 13, 1982 | | at Mississippi State | L 45–59 | 11–11 (5–9) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 17, 1982 | | LSU | W 82–72 | 12–11 (6–9) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 20, 1982 | | at Georgia | L 56–57 | 12–12 (6–10) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Feb 24, 1982 | | at No. 17 Alabama | L 72–74 | 12–13 (6–11) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 27, 1982 | | No. 19 Tennessee | W 56–54 | 13–13 (7–11) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 1982 | (8) | (9) Mississippi State | W 38–36 $^{OT}$ | 14–13 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 4, 1982 | (8) | (1) No. 15 Kentucky | L 66–89 | 14–14 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||