Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl and his players discuss their last home matchup before heading to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational
Tonight, the Auburn Tigers will welcome the North Alabama Lions to Neville Arena for their last home game before the loaded Maui Invitational Tournament next week. Head coach Bruce Pearl and his team will be looking to snag a win over UNA and head into the tournament undefeated.
The Tigers aren't overlooking UNA, though, and are prepared to bring their all to this matchup. The Lions are coming off a heartbreaker of a loss in overtime to Samford last week but won their first three games of the season.
Below, Pearl and some of the Auburn basketball players shared their thoughts on tonight's game.
Denver Jones on the focus for this game, per AuburnTigers.com:
“We’ve got to be just excited to play UNA Monday as we were to play Houston. That’s going to be the biggest key as far as being the more excited team. Come out ready to play like we would come out in any other game.”
Bruce Pearl on letdowns versus mid-major opponents, per Auburn Undercover:
"I think there's enough new players in that locker room that are having their first experience that they're still so excited about playing, because this is just their fourth game, and so that helps. And then I think that if we had any let down last year, it might have been at Appalachian State, and that was one of the few times in last several years, I think, where we've gotten beat when we were when we're supposed to win the game. Even though it was at Appalachian State, we're supposed to win that game. And I think the returning guys recognize that. I think the last thing would be, I've got some seniors that are counting the games down every home game they play, it's one less game that they're ever going to play at Neville Arena. And we're trying to get better."
Tahaad Pettiford on the team's preparation, per Auburn Undercover:
"It's really important. Practice — we always talk about it, nobody really takes off in practice. I feel like that's what really makes us the team we are, because we're so competitive. Knowing that and going into games, it's a really good mindset to have. We know that everybody on the team is willing to give it all off the bench. We have a five on the court and a five off the bench, just ready to go."
Auburn basketball will tipoff against UNA at 8:00 p.m. tonight.