For one of the few times this season, Steven Pearl seemed pleased with his team while discussing Saturday’s matchup against Kentucky in Neville Arena. Despite a five-game losing streak that has put Auburn squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Tigers have come out with amazing energy in the last couple of days of practice in preparation for a tough battle against the Wildcats.
“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.”
Starting out slow is not something Auburn can afford to do against Kentucky, especially after Wednesday’s first half against Mississippi State, in which Bulldogs’ guard Josh Hubbard went off for 35 points on 9-of-12 three-point shooting. And while Mark Pope’s team doesn’t have someone who can take over a game like Hubbard, there are still players, including Otega Oweh, who are more than capable of making a massive difference.
Auburn must learn to finish games
For the Tigers, the situation is clear as it could be: get another solid win against a solid Kentucky team, one that is also on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and use that momentum for the rest of the schedule. Some winnable games are coming up for Auburn, and if they were to take care of business in those matchups, Pearl and his team could breathe easier come Selection Sunday.
“We have five quality wins already this year and every one you can add on top of this is significant,” Pearl said. “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.”