# 1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1983–84 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his sixth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 20–11, 12–6 in SEC play. They defeated Vanderbilt and Tennessee to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Richmond in the first round.
Notable freshman signees were guards Gerald White and Frank Ford, along with junior college transfers Vern Strickland and Carey Holland for frontcourt help. Junior Charles Barkley suffered a back injury in the first game of the season and missed time, but returned for a January 13 home date with then #1-ranked Kentucky. Auburn upset the Wildcats 82-63, their first victory ever over a #1-ranked team.
After the first-round NCAA loss to Richmond, Barkley left Auburn and entered the NBA draft.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1983* | | Columbus College | W 58–54 | 1–0 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 2, 1983* ESPN | | at Alabama-Birmingham | L 62–69 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,803) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 5, 1983* | | at Florida State | W 76–69 | 2–1 | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 8, 1983* | | vs. Youngstown State Colonial Classic | W 78–52 | 3–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 9, 1983* | | at South Alabama Colonial Classic | L 73–95 | 3–2 | Jaguar Gym (6,236) Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 14, 1983* | | at Mercer | W 65–63 | 4–2 | Porter Gymnasium Macon, Georgia |
| Dec 19, 1983* | | Eastern Kentucky | W 100–60 | 5–2 | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 22, 1983 | | at Mississippi State | W 73–55 | 6–2 (1–0) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Dec 27, 1983* ESPN | | vs. No. 10 Wake Forest Gator Bowl Tournament | L 67–76 | 6–3 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 28, 1983* | | vs. Villanova Gator Bowl Tournament | W 95–83 | 7–3 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Jan 5, 1984 | | at Alabama | W 91–86 | 8–3 (2–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 7, 1984 SPI | | Florida | W 82–66 | 9–3 (3–0) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 13, 1984 WTBS | | No. 2 Kentucky | W 82–63 | 10–3 (4–0) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 17, 1984 | | Vanderbilt | L 71–73 | 10–4 (4–1) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 22, 1984 SPI | | at Georgia | L 86–90 | 10–5 (4–2) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Jan 24, 1984 | | at Tennessee | W 79–72 | 11–5 (5–2) | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 27, 1984 WTBS | | No. 10 LSU | W 80–78 | 12–5 (6–2) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 31, 1984* USA | No. 19 | Ole Miss | W 60–50 | 13–5 (7–2) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 5, 1984 SPI | No. 19 | at Florida | W 67–65 | 14–5 (8–2) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 11, 1984 SPI | No. 16 | at No. 6 Kentucky | L 64–84 | 14–6 (8–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 13, 1984 ESPN | | at Vanderbilt | W 73–67 | 15–6 (9–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 18, 1984 | | Georgia | W 81–63 | 16–6 (10–3) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 20, 1984 | | Tennessee | L 54–57 | 16–7 (10–4) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 25, 1984 CBS | No. 19 | at LSU | L 80–81 | 16–8 (10–5) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 27, 1984 | | at Ole Miss | L 71–72 | 16–9 (10–6) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Mar 1, 1984 WTBS | | Mississippi State | W 68–53 | 17–9 (11–6) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Mar 3, 1984 SPI | | Alabama | W 83–70 | 18–9 (12–6) | Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 1984* SPI | | at Vanderbilt Quarterfinal | W 59–58 | 19–9 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 9, 1984* SPI | | vs. Tennessee Semifinal | W 60–58 | 20–9 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 10, 1984* SPI | | vs. No. 3 Kentucky Championship Game | L 49–51 | 20–10 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1984* | (5) | vs. (12) Richmond NCAA tournament | L 71–72 | 20–11 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
Sources

## Team players in the NBA draft

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1984 | 1 | 5 | Charles Barkley | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1986 | 1 | 4 | Chuck Person | Indiana Pacers |