With tournament chances on the line, the Auburn Tigers basketball team will head to Tuscaloosa this weekend to finish out the regular season against the Crimson Tide.
The Tigers are coming off a much-needed win at home versus LSU, but will face a big challenge in Alabama, a team that beat Auburn earlier this season in Neville Arena. Auburn Tigers head basketball coach Steven Pearl made an adjustment to the starting lineup against LSU, starting Elyjah Freeman over Sebastian Williams-Adams, and Pearl says the lineup will remain the same this weekend.
Freeman began the season in the Tigers' starting lineup, but ultimately approached Pearl and asked if he could provide a spark off the bench while handing his starting role to Williams-Adams. The roles have reversed late in the season, and Freeman maintains he wants to do whatever it takes for his team to win games.
"I feel like I'm adding a little bit more spark with the guys and helping them defensively," Freeman said Friday, per Auburn Undercover. "Just trying to do everything in my power to help us win. That's really what I've been thinking about."
Pearl outlined the improvements he's seen from Freeman as the season has gone on.
"(In the) Arkansas game, I said, 'Stop being in between and just commit to everything you do,'" Pearl said of Freeman. "There were a couple shots in the last two games where there were tough shots, but he committed to them and he made them. That's how Elyjah has got to play. I think Elyjah, offensively, has been really good in conference play. He's shown a lot of really good things, and anytime he's full speed and isn't halfway on certain things, he can be really effective.
"... It's been great to see him and his progression as the year's gone on, and his confidence continues to grow."
The Tigers tip off against Alabama on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.