AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn’s opportunity to earn another Quad 1 win Saturday against Kentucky increases if the Tigers can achieve two things that have eluded them lately: a fast start and a strong finish.
“This has been a resilient group,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “We’ve got to stop getting off to such slow starts. In five of our last six games, we’ve been down 13 or more in the first half. We’re trying to figure out ways to combat that.”
Auburn looks to maintain the level of play that allowed the Tigers to outscore Mississippi State by 25 points in a second-half surge Wednesday in Starkville.
“That was a fun 16 minutes to coach, that was a fun 16 minutes to watch and I know that was a fun 16 minutes for them to play,” Pearl said. “We’ve got to find a way to be more consistent. If we can do that, we can start to make our run.”
3-point defense will also figure prominently into Saturday’s matchup. Kentucky’s top scorers Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler combine to average 40 points per game, with Chandler shooting 44.1 percent from 3-point range.
“We have to do a better job of executing the scouting report early,” Pearl said. “We can’t let guys who can really shoot it get easy, clean ones. We’ve got to recognize where shooters are and do a better job in our closeouts.”
With five games remaining in the regular season, Auburn’s resolve remains strong.
“That’s where that energy comes from,” Pearl said. “They know we’re right there. We’ve got to get over the hump. We’ve got to finish and push it over the edge. The reason there’s good energy is they recognize we’re more than capable if we can just finish. That’s what we have to do in these last five games.
“We have five quality wins already this year and every one you can add on top of this is significant. Every win is a way to win yourself into the tournament or better seeding in the SEC Tournament and every loss is a way to lose yourself out of the tournament. They know exactly where we’re at right now. We still are in position to accomplish a lot of the things we set out to earlier in the year. We’ve just got to finish.”
Auburn (14-12, 5-8) hosts Kentucky (17-9, 8-5) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network, where Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will bring the action to listeners in the annual AUTLIVE game, highlighting Auburn basketball’s fight against cancer.
“Something we’re incredibly proud of,” Pearl said of the initiative that Bruce Pearl began at Tennessee when Steven Pearl’s Volunteers teammate Chris Lofton was diagnosed with cancer. “We want to continue to raise as much money and as much awareness as we possibly can.”
Auburn University students will receive free AUTLIVE T-shirts, while proceeds from fan sales will support local cancer patients.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer