The Steam Room is back for the sixth (and possibly final) season. This takes Charles Barkley back to his favorite segment – responding to fan messages. The season premiere featured a message from an Auburn student who had the opportunity to work in Barkley’s TNT team. She didn’t get to meet the Tigers alum but she did something better. This student got Chuck’s word to appear on an Auburn podcast and his commitment to relive an old rivalry.

TNT and Charles Barkley have a program where they enlist an intern from Auburn to work in Chuck’s staff every year. Jojo Cavanaugh, a senior studying sports broadcast, interned in his PR team (what a whirlwind that probably was with Chuck announcing and canceling retirement in one summer).

When she brought up the tough schedule the Auburn Tigers have this season, the star alum had a positive outlook. He told Jojo via the Steam Room, “I don’t mind them [Tigers basketball team] having a tough schedule because I think it only makes you better.”

Part of the tough schedule for Auburn is going up against the Duke Blue Devils this season. Sir Charles would never miss it as he tells Ernie Johnson, “I know we’re going to Duke for the first time since my freshman year in 1981… first time since 1981, Auburn’s playing Duke at Cameron. I’m going to try make that game actually.”

The Auburn Tigers and Duke Blue Devils will clash on December 4, 2024, at the Durham, North Carolina venue, Cameron Indoor Stadium. As Chuck said, this is the first time in 43 years that these two rivals are meeting on the court. And he wouldn’t miss it, especially with how their last meeting went down.

Charles Barkley is excited for redemption

By the Chuckster’s own admission, the Tigers were a terrible team before Charles Barkley arrived in 1981. Right away, he took the team to a .500 record but they weren’t a successful team by any means. An example was the matchup against Duke on December 30, 1981, at the Cameron Stadium.

Auburn lost by a single point, 72-71. Back then, even this loss would’ve been a cause for celebration for the Tigers. But given how competitive Chuckster was, he used to get mad at them for celebrating a loss.

Duke currently leads the head-to-head matchups 4-0 and Barkley is a lot more confident in the Tigers. “I think it’d be fun to go back to Cameron. It wasn’t like it was the last 30 something years when Coach K was there,” he told Ernie. He’s eager to watch the reigning phenom of NCAA basketball, Cooper Flagg of Duke play but he’s also got a lot of faith in Tigers HC Bruce Pearl.

Barkley is undoubtedly hoping for a different outcome from 1981. The Auburn Tigers better deliver when their proud alum is watching.