AUBURN—No. 5 Auburn is back in preparation for its upcoming game against Kent State after a monumental win over Houston last week.
"It was a great win over Houston," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Historic, based on the rankings of the teams, and gives us a barometer of where we are right now. It's a long season, we've got a lot to work on and a lot of challenges in front of us, but I was proud of our kids."
After the win, Auburn moved up six spots in the latest AP Poll and is the number one team in the nation, according to the KenPom rankings. But to keep the honors rolling, Pearl knows his squad must take it one game at a time and respect everyone on the schedule.
"I thought the guys came back to practice yesterday humble and hungry, and they recognize that we've got a Kent State team coming in tomorrow that is picked third in the MAC, and that's been to the NCAA Tournament several times. Their coach has beaten power five teams - I think four times at Kent State in his career on the road. I know they played Gonzaga, and really tough. They're old, experienced, deep, quick, and they're very well coached," Pearl said.
Auburn's young star Tahaad Pettiford had his coming-out party on Saturday with a 21-point performance against one of the best teams in the nation. But Pearl knows it's not going to be like that every game and has prepared Pettiford for when it doesn't go his way.
"He knows he's as good as the best freshman in the country and obviously got a chance to show it on that stage, in that moment. Now, he is a freshman, so he's going to have - he'll have, like the Dow Jones. He will be up and down some, but he's really coachable. He's really been a great teammate. He wants to get better," Pearl said.
When asked about Jahki Howard and Ja'Heim Hudson, who did not travel with the team after Friday evening's altercation on the team flight, Pearl said, "It was obviously an unfortunate situation. We're dealing with it head on. Those guys were in class and practice on Monday."
But the coach did not clarify whether or not those guys would play on Wednesday night.
Tipoff for the Tigers' matchup with Kent State is slated for 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+.
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