AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn clinched a share of the SEC regular season championship Wednesday night at Mississippi State. It's the only the fourth regular-season title in the program's history and the second under head coach Bruce Pearl.
Next Game:
South Carolina
March 4, 2022
Noon CT
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
But if the fifth-ranked Tigers want to win the championship outright, they will likely have to beat South Carolina on Saturday. If they want to clinch the top seed in the SEC Tournament and vie for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they need to close the regular season with a win.
"We're playing for two things now," Pearl said. "We're playing for the No. 1 seed (in the SEC Tournament), and we're playing to win this championship by ourselves. So obviously a lot to play for against a team that is playing very well right now.
"And we're trying to do the best we can to seed ourselves No. 1 in the SEC tournament and then to try to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament if we can continue to play well and win some more games."
So, while history was made Wednesday night in Starkville, the season is not over. Saturday's game represents another opportunity for this Auburn team, a team that will be playing its final game together in Auburn Arena – now known as Neville Arena.
As good as the Tigers have been this season – and they've been historically good – there's still room for improvement as the postseason approaches.
"It's been a great team to coach," Pearl said. "It's a real competitive group and a group that gets along really well. They've been locked in. What's the upside? The upside is can we get to rebounding better? Can we get to shooting the ball a little bit better? Can we stay healthy? And can we get a little bit more from everybody?
"One of the things that I looked at from (the Mississippi State game) was the fact that everybody scored and everybody got at least a rebound. Everybody contributed Wednesday. We played nine guys, and all nine of them had pretty positive contributions overall."
Similar to Wednesday night, Auburn might need contributions from everybody again Saturday against a South Carolina team who has won five of their last six games.
Auburn and South Carolina will tip off at noon CT from Neville Arena where the Tigers are a perfect 15-0 this season. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM and online at AuburnTigers.com, and the game will also be televised on SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald and Dane Bradshaw on the call.
PLAYER TO WATCH: K.D. JOHNSON
Sophomore K.D. Johnson was the catalyst for Auburn in overtime Wednesday at Mississippi State, scoring the Tigers' first 10 points and finishing with 12 in the extra stanza. It was the most points by an Auburn player in overtime since Jared Harper scored 12 in overtime to beat Kentucky in the 2019 Elite Eight. Johnson has been hot of late, averaging 16.0 pts, 1.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in the last two games.
INSIDE THE SERIES: SOUTH CAROLINA
Auburn holds a 12-8 advantage over South Carolina in Auburn, including a 5-1 lead in Neville Arena. The Tigers won, 81-66, in Columbia back in January – a game in which Wendell Green Jr. scored a team-high 22 points off the bench. It was the fourth-straight win in the series for Auburn who is looking for their first two-game sweep over the Gamecocks since 2014.
CHASING HOME PERFECTION
The Tigers will be seeking their first-ever undefeated season at Neville Arena on Saturday. Auburn is a perfect 15-0 on its home court this season and with a win would achieve its first undefeated season at home since 1998-99 when the Tigers were 15-0.
In the 12-year history of Neville Arena and 42 years in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Auburn has been perfect two previous times. The first was the 1974-75 Tigers under head coach Bob Davis that finished 12-0 at home.
SENIOR DAY
Auburn will honor two seniors, Chase Maasdorp and Preston Cook, and five team managers, Ethan Heron, William Drescher, Michael Shelby, Myles Hendrick and Baabak Tafazoli, during its Senior Day pre-game ceremony Saturday against South Carolina.