AUBURN, Ala. – Good luck finding a team in college basketball who has a tougher finish to the season than Auburn. First up is a road trip to No. 2 Alabama on Wednesday night. Then the Tigers are back home Saturday where they will face No. 12 Tennessee.
Next Game:
at Alabama
March 1, 2023
6 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
It doesn't get much more difficult than that, especially the trip to Alabama, but Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl sees it more as an opportunity heading into March.
"Winning one of these next two games puts us in position to where we'd be a lock to make the NCAA Tournament," Pearl said. "I've been in situations in other years where there's nothing left on the schedule to really get you over the hump. You have to hope that somebody else loses. We don't have that situation. We're still in control of our own destiny."
Pearl is planning to go through the various scenarios with his team of what winning two games means, what winning one game means, what losing two games means.
Auburn missed an opportunity Saturday at Kentucky, but as bad as it got in the second half, the Tigers moved on from that game like they have any other game this season.
"No matter the result of the last game, you've got to move to the next game," junior point guard Wendell Green Jr. said. "Win by 30 or lose by 30, you've got to get to the next game because you don't want to have that carry over. It's part of the SEC grind.
"We're still together. There are still a lot more games. We have two more in the regular season, the SEC Tournament and then the NCAA Tournament. The attitude is great. We know we've got to get these next couple games – at least one, but we want to get both. We move forward, and we're just trying to find a way to win."
The team's focus hasn't changed. It's on the next game, and in this case, on to Alabama.
Auburn played Alabama as well as just about anybody all season when the two teams met in Neville Arena back on Feb. 11. The Tigers led for the majority of the game and were up by as many as five with just under 10 minutes remaining before Alabama pulled away late.
The rematch Wednesday night will tip off at 6 p.m. CT from Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will be televised on ESPN2. 
PLAYER TO WATCH: JAYLIN WILLIAMS
Jaylin Williams is one of six seniors on this year's roster and has played in 102 career games with 55 starts for the Tigers. He is 3-4 in his four-year career against rival Alabama. Williams has had the hot shooting hand of late, scoring in double figure before halftime in four of the team's last five contests. He led Auburn with 13 points and four rebounds at Kentucky, and he poured in 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first matchup with Alabama.
INSIDE THE SERIES: ALABAMA
Alabama leads the all-time series with Auburn 100-65 following a 77-69 victory in Neville Arena on Feb. 11. It was Auburn's first loss against its in-state rival since 2021 after the Tigers swept the regular season series last year. In Tuscaloosa last year, Jabari Smith scored a game-high 25 points to lead Auburn past Alabama 81-77. Wendell Green Jr. added 19 points off the bench while both K.D. Johnson and Allen Flanigan finished in double figures.
BODY OF WORK
Auburn has the 54th toughest schedule in the country and has a chance to finish as high as third in the SEC heading into the final week of the regular season. The Tigers have two Quad 1 wins (Northwestern, Arkansas) and are 6-1 against Quad 2 opponents. Eight of Auburn's 10 losses this season have come against Quad 1 teams.
TOP OF THE PACK
Over the last six years, Auburn has won the most games of any SEC school with 141 victories. Alabama is fifth with 131 victories in that span.
1. Auburn: 141-54
2. Tennessee: 139-54
3. Kentucky: 136-57
4. Arkansas: 133-66
5. Alabama: 131-72