Coming off a disappointing home loss to Tennessee Tuesday night, Bruce Pearl and his Auburn team will hit the road for the third time in four games as they head to Tuscaloosa to take on archrival Alabama Saturday night.
Pearl said Friday that his team’s issues aren’t because of a lack of effort, but they are simply not playing well enough together.
“Our guys get along great,” Pearl said. “We have great chemistry on the team. They really care about each other. It’s the best locker room I’ve had in a while, although my first year was good. Last year was difficult. This year’s much, much better. We’ve got great kids in the program. We don’t play as well together as we can and that’s something that we’re definitely, definitely working on.”
Auburn (14-8, 3-6) defeated the Crimson Tide (13-8, 6-3) 84-64 on Jan. 21 in Auburn Arena.
Auburn continues to be led by freshman sensation Mustapha Heron, who leads the team in scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (5.9 rebounds per game). Fellow freshman Austin Wiley earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors following his 19 point, nine rebound effort vs. Alabama. Auburn will need Wiley to play just as well Saturday to help combat Alabama’s size advantage.
“Alabama is a really good team,” Pearl said. “They’re playing really well right now. They’re playing great at home right now. Alabama is huge. They lead the league in rebound margin. All games, we’re last in rebound margin, but in the SEC, I think we’re maybe 12th. We’ve improved a little bit. And they are one of, if not, the biggest team in the country.
Alabama has won eight of its last 11 games with its only losses coming to Auburn and likely NCAA Tournament teams Florida and Arkansas. The Crimson Tide are led by Braxton Key who leads the team in scoring (11.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg).
“We’re excited about the challenge though because how often do you get to play Alabama with a chance to sweep? It’s something that we are excited about the opportunity to have the chance to do,” Pearl said.
Horace Spencer, who injured his shoulder in the second half vs. Tennessee, is questionable for the rivalry game Saturday night.
“We’ll see how he does (Friday). (He’s) pretty sore,” Pearl said. “If he can’t go, guys are ready to step up. Against Alabama, you can go small and run the risk that you get physically dominated, or you can try to go bigger and only get dominated a little bit. So pick your poison.”
Auburn has won just seven of the 48 games played in Coleman Coliseum against its archrival. The Tigers have not won in Tuscaloosa since 2009. Tip-off on Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m. CST. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.
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