Auburn head coach Tony Barbee is tired of hearing about the moral victories in the Tigers' 0-4 SEC start.
"The team has talked about it, I've talked about it," Barbee said after last Saturday's 68-61 loss to No. 7 Florida. "There is no such thing as a moral victory."
Three of Auburn's four SEC losses have come against teams that reached the NCAA tournament last year, and those losses were only by three, two and seven respectively.
With a 14-game conference losing streak hanging over its head, Barbee said the team's veterans have been battling to right the ship against some of the conference's best.
"These veteran players are fighting tooth and nail because they want to change the direction of this season in terms of conference play," Barbee said. "Make no mistake, we just played the number seven team on our home court. We're not accepting losing, but they're a very good team, and they're well-coached."
Senior forward Allen Payne recognized the difficulty of the Tigers' early SEC schedule, but said Auburn has little use for moral victories at this point in the season.
"People are going to tell us, 'Oh, you almost had them. You played really hard and we're proud of you,'" Payne said. "We can't be satisfied with that. We weren't before, and we really can't now.
"We're at a point that we're desperate for a win right now. We battled, but at this point it's not good enough just to do that. We have to start pulling these close games out."
In addition to the efforts of the upperclassmen, Auburn has seen steady contributions from a group of freshmen so far this season.
Freshman point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen has started every game for the Tigers this year and is averaging eight points, 3.3 assists and shooting 36 percent from behind the arc.
Former walk-on Alex Thompson and center Matthew Atewe have also played regular minutes for the Tigers in conference play.
"I think we have a special freshman group," Barbee said after Auburn's 70-68 home loss to Missouri. "It's about opportunity and to stay ready and to stay positive so that when your opportunity comes, you're ready for it."
With some of its more difficult conference tests behind them, Barbee said it's only a matter of time until Auburn starts pulling out conference wins.
"I'm proud of this team because of how hard we are playing, how hard we are fighting, how great the chemistry is on this team," Barbee said. "The breakthrough is coming. I believe it, that team believes it."
With composure, Barbee said, the Tigers are capable of a breakthrough that will change their losing conference ways.
"What we've been working on is the poise, the focus and the confidence it takes in anything at this level in this league," Barbee said. "Our poise, our focus and our confidence hasn't been there in those moments when we've got to make those plays.
"Losing is not our destiny, we've got to change our destiny. It's in our hands to change."
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