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Xavier and Auburn agree to series, Matt Stainbrook runs 5k.

Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers will make an appearance on the Xavier schedule for the next two seasons.

By Brad D
His mouth is open? That's not normal.
His mouth is open? That's not normal.
John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Xavier and Auburn have agreed to a home and home series to be played over the next two years. Xavier traveled to the greatish state of Alabama last year and knocked off the Crimson Tide after a furious comeback. This year, the Musketeers will again head south to play. In the 2015-16 season the Tigers will come to the Cintas Center to complete the series.

While Auburn does play in a power conference, they would not have been a quality opponent last year, finishing 129th in the KenPom rankings. That places them a full 70 spots behind Xavier and 25 spots below Butler. New Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is determined to at least change the national perception of the Tigers this year, "I don't know where this team can finish, ... and I can't control that, I can't control where we finish, but I can control where we schedule and we will not take the league down, we won't, as far as our schedule and RPI." If that isn't confidence in the squad, I don't know what is.

On another note, Xavier center Matt Stainbrook competed in the Redlegs Run at the Great American Ballpark last Saturday. The big man battled the heat and humidity to post a respectable 24:21, good for 12th in his age group. So, a tip of the cap to you Matt, for getting out there and doing work. While literally no part of running is enjoyable, finishing a race is always a good feeling.