With its NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance, Auburn returns home on Saturday night for a matchup with Ole Miss at Neville Arena.
“Everyone understands the urgency that’s needed over these next two weeks,” said Auburn basketball head coach Steven Pearl, noting that Auburn is one of 42 teams in contention for 37 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. “Take advantage of it. We’ve put ourselves in position to be in position. We’ve got to go win some games now. That’s on us as a coaching staff and as a team to perform and finish this thing off the right way.”
Despite having dropped six of its last seven games, Auburn is still projected to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament – pending a strong finish.
Pearl urged Auburn fans to pack out Neville Arena and give the Tigers the edge they need.
“Our fans have been unbelievable all year, our students have been unbelievable all year,” said Pearl. “It would be incredibly appreciated if that place was full in both games, as it has all year. We understand the importance of both games, especially this one on Saturday."
“Our guys feed off the energy and the environment," he continued. "It helps them perform, and it was a big reason why we were able to beat Kentucky last Saturday. I would encourage all our fans, as they’ve done all year, to continue to show up, be loud and give our guys the juice they need to beat a really good Ole Miss team.”
The Rebels bring a 10-game losing streak into Saturday’s matchup, which began with a loss to Auburn on January 20.
“They’re in every single game,” said Pearl, noting that Ole Miss has won road games at Georgia and Mississippi State. “They’ve won in two environments that we weren’t able to this year. They’re very capable.”
In that meeting, KeShawn Murphy tallied 16 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds, helping the Tigers extend their current 10-game winning streak in the series.
Auburn tallied a season high with 32 made free throws on 39 attempts. Ole Miss continues to foul at a high rate, ranking 322nd nationally in fouls per game (19.5), while Auburn is second nationally in free throws attempted (27.7) and third nationally in free throws made (20.7) per game.
Pearl said the Tigers played with great effort and energy and showed his team film from the previous meeting, which sparked one of the year's best practices.
“We were connected, we were playing with a purpose, we were flying around, and we were playing desperately,” he said. “For us to beat anyone in this league, that’s how we have to play for 40 minutes. I thought we did that against Kentucky.
“You can’t beat anyone in our league if you don’t play with great effort and energy. It was good for them to see, and they practiced that way yesterday.”
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m on SECN.
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