Jay Bilas puts Auburn’s home environment among the elite arenas: ‘It is a loud, intimidating place to play’
By Keith Farner
Published:
Jay Bilas is well aware of the tough environments in college basketball, and he puts Auburn near the top of the list.
On a recent segment on “The Next Round,” the ESPN broadcaster shared what the environment is like at Auburn as Neville Arena has become one of the loudest arenas in the country. The latest victim was No. 11 South Carolina, which Auburn beat 101-61 as the No. 13 Tigers had another dominant performance from Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome. They revealed a nickname after the game, “The Splash Brothers” after they combined for 44 points.
“The Jungle’s unbelievable, it may even be louder at times than Cameron Indoor Stadium,” Bilas said. “We’ve done games there where Dan Shulman would lean over and say, ‘I can’t hear anything. Do you think we’re going out over the air?’ Because we’re right in front of the student section. It is a loud, intimidating place to play. But what really makes it is the team.”
If Auburn wasn’t so good, Bilas said Neville Arena wouldn’t be so difficult.
“I put Auburn and Houston as the two hardest playing teams in the country, they lead the nation in playing hard and that creates a lot of problems for opponents,” Bilas said. “It’s really impressive to watch.”
“[The Jungle] may even be louder, sometimes, than Cameron Indoor.
We’ve done games there where Dan Shulman would lean over and say, ‘I can’t hear anything. Do you think we’re going out over the air?’
I put Auburn and Houston as the two hardest playing teams in the country…”… pic.twitter.com/1qeLTVa8B2
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) February 15, 2024
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
