The No. 2 Tigers are set to host the Monmouth Hawks in the final non-conference game of the season before Auburn starts SEC play in the new year. Bruce Pearl spoke with the media Friday afternoon to preview the upcoming matchup and talk about the Tigers’ break before the beginning of league play.
Below is a collection of the quotes from Pearl prior to Auburn’s upcoming contest with the Hawks.
Will tough non-conference help the upcoming SEC grind:
“Well, I think there are two ways to look at it. One, we are going to be continuing a grind. For others in our league, or for some of the teams in our league, they're going to be starting to grind because they've not played the schedule that we played. About half the teams in our league have played a schedule very similar to ours, not quite as tough, but very similar. I think you take it one at a time. I think you need to understand who you are, get your players to go to their strengths, stay away from their weaknesses, continue to make each other better and understand it's going to be about matchups.”
Potential to make history on Monday night:
“So one of the things I'm, again, really pleased about, as you guys know, I'm a big fan of history and making history. In the last nine years, at least to this point, we're 92-15 with a .859 winning percentage in the non-conference and that leads the SEC. Now, we got to win Monday, and I think we lead a couple teams by a game or two. Still, to be able to say after nine seasons, but we won’t be able to say it until Monday night if we beat Monmouth, that in nine years we will have the best winning percentage in the non-conference over anybody in the SEC.”
Chad Baker-Mazara is one of the ‘more underrated players’:
“We got a couple guys that are some of the more underrated players in the country. Chad Baker is one of them. He affects the game offensively and defensively. He's got stuff you can't teach. He has it. And that's just a feel. It's a knowledge. He's in the right place the right time. He makes really good decisions. He's a very, very unselfish basketball player on the floor. I think he’s one of the reasons we’re so good.”
Staying ‘hungry’ and ‘humble’:
“Jay Bilas has talked about the fact that, he says that Auburn and Houston are the two team that finish first in effort. And I tell coaches when I clinic all the time, I said, ‘Look, I think your job is to get your kids to play as hard or harder than the opponent’. We got to win, but also playing with effort and energy. And I think that guys that come from backgrounds where they don't have as many stars in front of their names, where they're hungry, humble, something to prove. It lets them do it every night.”
Chris Moore reminds Pearl of former player:
“Chris Moore for Auburn, reminds me of Steven Pearl from Tennessee, in a sense that less was more. They were both big scores in high school, right? But came to the SEC level and were high level defenders, high level rebounders and unbelievable teammates.
“When I say less is more, look, Chris is going to take an open shot, get an offensive rebound, and get you another possession. Maybe shoot it himself, but he's not out there looking for shots. He's not looking for play calls or looking to score, which means when he's on the floor, the other four guys have got a better percentage chance to get a shot, and so guys love playing with guys like Chris Moore or Dylan Caldwell or Steven Pearl.”
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
