After having four of the last five games go into overtime, and with starters Danjel Purifoy, and Isaac Okoro recovering from illness and injury respectively, the Tigers will look to stay afloat and extend their winning streak Saturday at Missouri.
Missouri is sitting at 11-13 and 3-8 in the SEC, but has been impressive when playing at home with a record of 9-3. They come into the contest with only three conference wins, and all have been against teams with an overall record of .500 or better in Arkansas, Florida and Georgia.
As the race for the Southeastern Conference crown heats up with Auburn, LSU and Kentucky all 9-2 in SEC play, Pearl knows that Auburn can not afford to look past Missouri.
“As you would expect from a Cuonzo Martin coached team, they’re fully engaged," Pearl said. "They’re not playing for a regular season championship, the math doesn’t put them in that equation but they’re definitely playing to try and get into the NCAA Tournament. They’re trying to play to win the SEC Tournament Championship, things like that in the sense that they know they can beat people."
Outside of its three SEC wins, Missouri holds a win over No. 22 Illinois this season defeating the Fighting Illini 63-56 in December.
As Auburn continues to prepare for Missouri, it expects Purifoy to return after missing the LSU game with the flu. He played sparingly Wednesday against Alabama, seeing only nine minutes of game action but did hit one 3-pointer going 1 of 3 from beyond the arc.
A return to the starting lineup for Purifoy would bring back stability to the Tigers' lineup, as he has started in 21 of 23 games this season. Pearl believes that the senior forward will be back in time for Saturday's game.
“Danjel practiced yesterday," Pearl said. "We did not go hard yesterday, just simply because obviously, physically and mentally these games take a toll. I know I hear from our fans all the time what kind of toll it takes on them. It takes a toll on us, too. ...Hopefully, we’ll see how he does. But I would anticipate that he’s back.”
As for Okoro, the talented freshman who is averaging 13.1 points per game and is the team's second leading scorer is "questionable" according to Pearl. If he's not able to go, Pearl expects his team to approach the obstacles with the next-man-up-mentality that they've used all season long.
“Danjel, if he can play, he and Anfernee [McLemore] play the 4 and the 5," Pearl said. "Devan [Cambridge] plays the 2 and the 3. Allen [Flanigan] plays the 3. So we’ve got people in those positions, and we’ll have to see how that goes. Obviously if we’re without him [Okoro], we’ve all got to step up and be able to find a way.”
Auburn (22-2, 9-2 in SEC) travels to take on Missouri (11-13, 3-8 in SEC) at 5 p.m. CST on Saturday. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
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