AUBURN, Ala. – It wasn't hard for Auburn to get motivated Saturday. The Tigers were playing in an NBA arena against a Big 10 team with Kevin Durant sitting courtside. And they responded with an emphatic 99-68 victory in Atlanta.
Next Game:
North Alabama
Dec. 14, 2021
8 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
But Auburn, who jumped to No. 13 in the latest AP poll, better bring that same level of intensity to Auburn Arena on Tuesday night to face a scrappy North Alabama team.
"It's not going to be an easy game," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said Monday. "It's going to be very difficult to duplicate the energy and emotion of playing in an NBA arena, playing in front of KD and other NBA players and scouts.
"Then you come home, and you play against North Alabama. But it's a team that is very dangerous, a team that plays exceptionally hard, that will play for 40 minutes. They gave Mississippi State all they wanted, and they were down 3 at half to Iona – an Iona team that beat Alabama."
For Tuesday's game, it will be Steven Pearl and not Bruce Pearl acting as head coach for Auburn with the elder Pearl serving the second game of a two-game suspension. Assistant coach Wes Flanigan filled in for Bruce Peal in Saturday's win over Nebraska.
Unlike Flanigan, who was a head coach for two seasons at Little Rock, this will be Steven Pearl's first collegiate game as a head coach.
"For me, I've got to be myself," he said. "Wes told the guys, 'I'm not Bruce Pearl. I'm Wes Flanigan. And this is how I'm going to operate it.' While I'm his son, I've still got to be who I am and be me and not change that. But also recognize that what we do is BP's system, and that's what we're going to stick to."
Auburn and North Alabama will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on Tuesday from Auburn Arena. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM and online at AuburnTigers.com. The game will be televised on SEC Network with Tom Hart and Daymeon Fishback on the call.
TOYS FOR TOTS
Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Scholarship or Main Entrance of Auburn Arena where Marines will be standing by to assist with the collection. This will be the fourth straight year of the Toy Drive. In 2019, the Auburn Family donated 3,000 toys and the program looks to break that record this holiday season. Toy donations will benefit Toys for Tots and help bring joy to local children in need.
PLAYER TO WATCH: WENDELL GREEN JR.
Sophomore guard Wendell Green Jr. came off the bench and tied his season high with 19 points in Saturday's 99-68 over Nebraska. His impressive stat line also included six rebounds and six assists against the Cornhuskers. It marked Green's fifth game in double figures this season and third game with six or more assists in the team's last four contests. He currently leads the Tigers in assists per game (4.6), which ranks sixth best in the SEC.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Auburn holds a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series with North Alabama having last met in
2015 (W, 82-61). This will be the first meeting between the two teams since North Alabama began its transition from Division II to Division I in 2018.
The Tigers are 18-3 (.857) all-time against opponents from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
A PEARL FOR A PEARL
A rarity, this will be the fourth known time a son will take over the head coaching reins for his father during the same season in the NCAA Division I coaching ranks.
UNLV – Charlie & Jay Spoonhour (2003-04: 10 games)
Oklahoma State – Eddie & Sean Sutton (2005-06: 9 games)
Texas Tech – Bob & Pat Knight (2007-08: 11 games)
Auburn – Bruce & Steven Pearl (2021-22: 1 game)