Auburn’s Jahki Howard and Ja’Heim Hudson won’t play after a plane accident

According to multiple reports, Auburn freshman Jahki Howard and senior Ja’Heim Hudson – both reserves – will not play against Houston on Saturday after they were involved in the plane accident that forced the Tigers to turn around and make an emergency landing on Friday.

Howard and Hudson were not on Auburn’s second flight, which arrived in Houston later that night, according to Field of 68, which called the incident Friday night a “gimmick.”

While it is still unclear what transpired during the skirmish on the first flight, a mid-air altercation at least between Howard and Hudson caused the Tigers to turn back shortly after their afternoon takeoff, and the pilot notified air traffic control that this had happened was a “bunch of fighting basketball players.”

“The flight deck is safe,” the pilot later told air traffic control, according to WRBC News. “The threat level is limited at the moment. … We will have police on scene and we had two players get into a physical altercation where clothing was torn.”

Hudson transferred to Auburn in the offseason – with two years of eligibility left, according to the program’s commitment announcement – after playing two seasons at Georgia State and one at SMU, and averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for last year the mustangs.

Howard committed to the Tigers as a four-star recruit – and No. 85 overall in the class of 2024 – and collected seven points and four rebounds in 19:39 minutes off the bench in his Auburn debut.

Hudson recorded two points, two rebounds and two assists in just over 15 minutes of playing time, starting his first season under head coach Bruce Pearl.

Auburn beat Vermont 94-43 in their season opener earlier this week, and the Tigers entered the showdown with No. 4 Houston, No. 11 in the country, as they try to overcome the lingering disappointment of a first-round upset of Yale to wipe out in last year’s NCAA tournament.

Miles Kelly led the Tigers with 21 points against Vermont, while Denver Jones contributed 16 points.

Houston, which advanced to the Sweet 16 last year before falling to Duke, opened its campaign Monday with a 57-point win over Jackson State.