Auburn Adjusts to Alamodome Size Ahead of Final Four Matchup

San Antonio, Texas – As Auburn prepares for its Final Four game against Florida, players and coaches are adjusting to the size of the venue. The 2025 Final Four will take place at the Alamodome, a 64,000-seat stadium primarily used for football, significantly larger than the 9,000-seat Neville Arena.

This size difference poses challenges, particularly in terms of depth perception during shooting. While this is a familiar situation for many teams participating in the Final Four, it marks a new experience for Auburn this season.

Auburn associate head coach Steven Pearl emphasized the importance of not overthinking the venue change. “I think if you talk about it too much, it gets in their heads. So, we haven’t said one word about it,” he told reporters. “The basketball is the same size, the rim’s the same size. Just shoot the damn thing and let it go in.”

Leading scorer Miles Kelly has some experience playing in large arenas. Before joining Auburn, he played three seasons at Georgia Tech, which included games at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, a similar football stadium setting. He recalled his last game there, where he scored 30 points and made seven 3-pointers on February 28, 2023.

When asked about the effect of a larger venue, Kelly stated, “Not really. I feel like I’m used to playing in big arenas. At Georgia Tech, we played at Syracuse, so they played in their football stadium. When we played at Syracuse, I had some of my best games, so I’m used to all the depth perception and playing in big arenas like that.”

However, Kelly has faced difficulties during the NCAA tournament, having started strong with 23 points and seven 3-pointers in the first round but only making 3 of 18 long-range attempts since then. He led the Tigers in scoring during their regular season loss to Florida, making his performance crucial on Saturday.

“Just stay aggressive,” Kelly advised regarding his approach against Florida. “Make them feel my presence there and really make their guards uncomfortable defensively.”

The highly anticipated Final Four game between Auburn and Florida is scheduled to tip off at 5:09 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcasted on CBS.