Bull’s Eye on Auburn Tigers Back According to Bruce Pearl

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers have won four-in-row since their 90-81 loss to the No. 2 Florida Gators.

Granted Auburn has a tough schedule, but they haven’t been blowing teams out even semi-regularly, winning hard-fought contests on the strength of their talent and depth.

Head coach Bruce Pearl isn’t surprised how close his games have been, even against unranked opponents. The Tigers have turned from the hunters into the hunted.

“We’re clearly getting everybody’s best shot, and that’s great, because to the victor go the spoils,” said Pearl after closing out Georgia 82-70 on Saturday. “A victory over Auburn, with our math could really get somebody off the bubble and into the tournament.

“That’s what these kids are playing for. We recognize that; we’re going to get that again Wednesday night against Ole Miss.”

When Pearl refers to the math, he speaks of the impressive number of quality wins Auburn has racked up. A win over Auburn could have a multiplier effect for a team like Georgia or Arkansas or Oklahoma looking to get a late bid into the NCAA Tournament.

It’s rare that a team can lose and stay in the No. 1 position. But that’s what happened after Auburn fell to Florida (it helped that Duke lost that same day).

They stayed No. 1 because of their body of work as the voters didn’t fall victim to recency bias. The difficulty can be maintaining the focus it takes to keep winning with a bull’s eye on their backs.

Pearl credits the maturity of his team.

“I think the other thing too, the combination of having a bunch of older guys that are starting to see the end of this thing in the regular season, and they don’t want to waste opportunities,” said Pearl. “So I think that sometimes keeps them engaged and continue to work, and obviously, we’re trying to play for championships.”

This Auburn Tigers basketball team is playing for trophies and history. They have a good chance of going down as the best team to ever suit up on the Plains.

Those goals, plus having a deep, talented, and hungry roster, are helping Auburn navigate the grind of a 31-game regular-season schedule that has only seen them lose twice.