Auburn, AL – The Auburn Tigers now know their opponent for the 2026 SEC/ACC Challenge. According to multiple reports on Thursday, Auburn will travel to face the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday, December 1, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina .
The matchup was first reported by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and confirms the fourth installment of the annual cross-conference event between the SEC and ACC .
A Series Renewed
The December meeting will mark the 29th all-time contest between the two programs who share the same tiger mascot . While Auburn holds a slight lead in the all-time series at 15-13, recent history heavily favors Clemson .
Clemson has won six of the last seven meetings between the schools. The most recent matchup came in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, where Clemson defeated Auburn decisively by a score of 84-53 .
Auburn’s Recent History in the Challenge
The Auburn Tigers enter the 2026 challenge looking to build on recent success in the event. Last season, Auburn defeated NC State 83-73 at Neville Arena . In 2023, they beat Virginia Tech, but dropped a road contest to Duke during the 2024 edition .
Clemson enters the contest after falling to Alabama in last year’s challenge, though they previously secured upset victories over Kentucky and Alabama in prior years .
Building a Non-Conference Slate
The game against Clemson adds another high-profile opponent to Auburn’s growing 2026-27 non-conference schedule under head coach Steven Pearl. Known matchups for the Tigers include:
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Nov. 17-19: West Virginia, Kansas/UNLV (Players Era Tournament, Las Vegas)
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Dec. 15: Middle Tennessee (Rocket City Classic, Huntsville)
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Dec. 19: Wisconsin (Nashville)
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TBA: Arizona
Looking Ahead
Auburn will look to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the field for the 2025-26 season. The Tigers return an experienced backcourt featuring Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton, while several transfer portal additions have reshaped the frontcourt .
The 2026 SEC/ACC Challenge will take place over two days, with Auburn’s game at Clemson scheduled for Tuesday, December 1 . The full non-conference schedule and broadcast details for the matchup are expected to be released later this summer .
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