After Auburn trailed by 17 points going into the half at Ole Miss, head coach Bruce Pearl gave a fiery speech.
“I ain’t changing, I’m sticking with my boys”, he said.
What ensued was the third largest comeback in program history and the Tigers went on to win 83-82 for just the second win at Ole Miss in the last 11 contests. Pearl's speech was caught in the latest Auburn hype video on social media.
Following the game, after another slow offensive start, questions arose if changes might be needed for the starting lineup. Now, with just two days until Saturday's contest versus No. 13 Kentucky, Pearl is still sticking with his starters.
“I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do," Pearl said. "I don’t have an answer for why we’re not starting better, I don’t know why that combination of our players are struggling.”
Auburn’s starting lineup this season has consisted of J’Von McCormick, Samir Doughty, Isaac Okoro, Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley for 19 of its 20 games this season. The one instance where the starting lineup varied this season was when Anfernee McLemore started in place of Purifoy in at Florida.
Pearl knows his team cannot afford to start slow against the Wildcats on Saturday, who come into the contest having scored over 30 points in the first half against SEC opponents in six of seven games. While Auburn has only reached that clip in the first half against SEC opponents in three of seven games.
A big part of Kentucky’s success this season has been the play of All-SEC point guard Ashton Hagans. The sophomore is averaging 13.2 points per game and 7.2 assists, and was a player that Pearl wanted to come to Auburn.
“We were one of the first people to offer Ashton, recruit Ashton and actually had a chance," Pearl said. “I told him when we were recruiting him, ‘what’s going to happen is that you’re going to love Auburn and then coach Calipari is going to come on in and offer you a scholarship at Kentucky and then you’re going to break my heart.’ And he did but he broke a few other hearts as well not just mine.”
Hagans eventually elected for Big Blue and has been instrumental to the Wildcats' success this season, just as Okoro has been for Auburn. Pearl complimented the pair, comparing the two's ability to provide that winning spark for their respective teams.
“I’ve really got great respect for him [Hagans]," Pearl said. “If Isaac Okoro was a point guard, he’d play like Ashton Hagans and you know how strongly I feel about Isaac and how he affects winning”
Both will be looking to make their mark Saturday, when No. 13 Kentucky and No. 17 Auburn tipoff on ESPN this Saturday at 5 p.m. CST. Prior to the game, Auburn Arena will be hosting College GameDay for the first time in school history starting at 10 a.m. CST.
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