Tag: bruce pearl

Chuma Okeke starring for Orlando Magic, surprising no one

Chuma Okeke is getting his chance and now shining for the Orlando Magic after sitting out all of last season with an injury.

Things were going quite well for Chuma Okeke and the Auburn Tigers in spring 2019.

The Tigers defeated Tennessee 84-64 to win their first SEC Tournament championship in 34 years thanks in large part to 18 points, 3 steals, and 13 rebounds from Okeke. His NBA draft stock was surging and all signs indicated that he would be Auburn’s next lottery pick.

Auburn entered the 2019 NCAA Tournament as the No.5 seed in the Midwest region. After the Tigers narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of New Mexico State it appeared to many that their road to the Final Four would be near impossible with 4-seed Kansas, 1-seed North Carolina, and 2-seed Kentucky standing in their way.

The morning that Auburn faced off against Kansas in the second round of the tournament there were three perfect brackets remaining. Unfortunately for one of those brackets, the Tigers couldn’t miss and Kansas fell 89-75 thus ruining that individual’s perfect bracket.

The Jayhawks season came to an abrupt end at the hands of Bryce Brown, Jared Harper, and Okeke. Kansas head coach Bill Self struggled to scheme around the Tigers’ sharpshooting point guard duo in Brown and Harper who combined for 43 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists against the Jayhawks. It was a futile effort on Self’s part as Auburn’s offensive firepower surged through Okeke who was averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 steals, and 5 rebounds per game.

As the Tigers headed into the Sweet Sixteen to take on North Carolina there was one perfect bracket remaining. The bracket belonged to 40-year-old neuropsychologist Gregg Nigl who had managed to correctly pick 49 games in a row. His bracket would have been busted by Auburn’s victory over North Carolina, but it was the Purdue Boilermakers thrilling overtime win over Tennessee that occurred first.

I watched the Auburn vs North Carolina game with my father. With 8:08 remaining in the second half we knew Auburn was up big, but had somehow lost at the same time. Okeke collided with UNC’s Cameron Johnson beneath the basket before falling hard to the floor. I don’t remember the fall, I just remember Okeke screaming while grabbing his knee before he was escorted to the locker room and taken for x-rays.

Okeke exited the game with 20 points, 2 steals, and 11 rebounds. I knew then that was the last time we’d see Okeke play in an Auburn uniform.

The Tigers went on to defeat Kentucky in the Elite Eight to advance to the first Final Four in program history. I vividly remember shots of Anfernee McLemore shooting free throws against Virginia and mouthing to himself, “do it for Chuma.” The Tigers fell to Virginia in Minneapolis, but the benchmark for success within Auburn basketball was officially set and Chuma Okeke was an integral part of it.

As the dust of the NCAA Tournament had settled and the NBA Draft drew closer, it was apparent that Okeke’s torn ACL would hurt his chances at being a lottery pick. The Orlando Magic knew exactly what type of player they would get in Okeke and took him 16th overall in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft.

ESPN analyst Mike Schmitz announced that it was, “the steal of the draft.”

And boy was he right. After a one year stint with Orlando’s G-league affiliate in Lakeland, the Orlando Magic announced that they had officially signed Okeke. In the last five games Okeke has recorded a total of 79 points (22-point career high vs Portland), 6 steals, and 29 rebounds (10-rebound career high vs New Orleans). The Magic have gone 3-2 in those five games proving Okeke as a catalyst for success at the professional level.

He’s back to where he was before that tragic fall in the second half against North Carolina. For Okeke the road to where he is now has consisted of two years of rehab, perseverance, and patience. The opportunity that Chuma Okeke has worked and prayed for is now.

Welcome back big Chum!

Bruce Pearl to Texas? Stop it. He’s not leaving what he’s built on the Plains

Bruce Pearl has found a home in Auburn and, even if an offer from Texas comes, don’t expect the Tigers head coach to accept.

With Shaka Smart departing Austin and the Texas Longhorns for the head coaching position with Marquette, some names are already being thrown out there for the vacant job.

One of those names, of course, is Auburn’s Bruce Pearl. ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg was maybe the first to mention the possibility of him leaving the Plains for the 40 Acres.

ā€œThey need someone thatā€™s going to get that Texas fan base excited,ā€ Greenberg said on ESPNā€™s College GameDay.Ā ā€œIā€™m going to throw two names at you. How about Bruce Pearl? Talk about a guy thatā€™s gone into a football environment and created frenzy and a winning atmosphere, a winning environment and style of play and energy.

Of course, this is the same Greenberg who did everything but credit the Tigers for their run through the 2019 SEC Tournament, instead saying that the final result — Auburn 84, Tennessee 64, was a mere result of the Volunteers playing “their real SEC championship” the day before against Kentucky.

As I said to that two years ago, I say to Greenberg now: puh-leeze.

In my opinion, the Auburn job is on the same level as the Texas job in men’s basketball. Even when the Longhorns are having a successful season, they struggle to fill their arena. In fact, this has been a problem for so long that the new arena they are building in Austin is much smaller.

This is a university with more than 50,000 students on campus and their reaction to a big basketball game on campus? “Meh.”

Of course the football-first attitude of Texas also describes Auburn but students have made Auburn Arena one of the toughest places to play in college basketball. They feed off the energy that Pearl has brought to the program and, in return, Pearl has adored himself to them.

It’s not like winning is easy at both places, either, yet Pearl has his system in place alongside the players he wants on his side and seems content to be a hero on the Plains compared to just another coach in Austin. Despite the departures of three players and the chance Sharife Cooper might go pro, there is plenty of optimism for next year’s team including the improved play of JT Thor if he returns and the entrance of 5-star recruit Jabari Smith and College of Charleston transfer Zep Jasper.

Auburn was the program that gave Pearl a second chance following his show-cause and dismissal from Tennessee. He has truly bought into the program and has rewarded us with a SEC regular season title, SEC tournament title and a trip to the Final Four.

To say he is currently the most-beloved Auburn coach is an understatement.

Yet, as we know, this is a business and we are sure that Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and the powerful Longhorn boosters will pony up a ton of money that they can throw at Pearl and other coaches that they deem worthy to run their program.

I just don’t see Pearl wanting to leave what he has built at Auburn. Smart was wise enough to see that he was probably going to get fired after this season in which he led the Longhorns to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament but was ultimately upset by Abilene Christian in the first round. A No. 3 seed coach get fired? Talk about unrealistic expectations.

Pearl has found his home on the Plains. I’d be so shocked if he left for the Texas job that, if it does occur, I’m willing to ride Bevo for five seconds. That’s how confident I am that Pearl will throw a “horns down” if an offer from Texas comes.

Auburn offers Missouri guard transfer Xavier Pinson

Missouri transfer Xavier Pinson could be a key factor in the Auburn offense if he decides to come to the Plains.

Auburn is in play for another talented transfer guard.

On Wednesday, Bruce Pearl and the Tigers’ staff offered a scholarship to Xavier Pinson who on Tuesday announced that he is transferring from Missouri.

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As a junior in 2020-21, the Chicago native averaged 13.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. With the departure of Justin Powell and Jamal Johnson, the Tigers could use his experience and scoring at the guard position.

Auburn picked up a commitment from College of Charleston guard Zep Jasper last week.

College of Charleston transfer, Auburn target on Tigers: ‘Love their style of play’

Zep Jasper, a grad transfer and Auburn target, is a big fan of both Auburn’s style of play and Bruce Pearl.

With the departure of Justin Powell to the NCAA Transfer Portal and possible exit of Sharife Cooper to the NBA draft, Auburn might be looking for some experienced guard play for the 2021-22 season.

In steps College of Charleston and Auburn target Zep Jasper who Bruce Pearl and his staff have let known that he is a huge priority for them.

For Jasper, it could be a match made in heaven.

ā€œIt felt great because I love Auburn,ā€ Jasper said per AuburnSports.com. ā€œI love their style of play. I love their staff. Iā€™ve been looking at Auburn since Malik Dunbar was there. Iā€™m from Augusta. Malik is from Augusta. Dylan Cardwell also is from Augusta. I always tune in to their games.ā€

That style of play suits the guard well as he led the Cougars in points by averaging 15.6 per game this past season. A graduate transfer, Jasper has two years of eligibility left and, it appears, wouldn’t mind a bit playing for Pearl.

ā€œBruce Pearl is just an excellent coach,ā€ Jasper said. ā€œHeā€™s very outgoing. He gets his players going and he has a great coaching staff: Coach (Steven) Pearl, Coach (Wes) Flanigan and Coach (Ira) Bowman. Iā€™ve talked to Steven, too, and like him. He is a great dude, a very cool dude.

ā€œI like the whole staff. Auburn has a great staff, a great program. I really think itā€™s a good fit for me.ā€

Bruce Pearl on Dylan Cardwell’s three-pointer: ‘He works on that shot all the time’

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl might have been one of only a few people surprised that Dylan Cardwell’s three-pointer went in on Saturday.

We aren’t sure if Bruce Pearl was joking or not after Auburn’s 78-71 victory over Mississippi State but, according to the Tigers coach, Dylan Cardwell’s turnaround three-pointer was not an accident.

“He works on that shot all the time,” Pearl said. “Dylan Cardwell 1 for 1 from 3.”

Auburn used a balanced effort from starters Allen Flanigan, Jamal Johnson, J.T. Thor and Jaylin Williams to end the season with a victory. Flanigan led the team with 22 points while Williams added 18 and Johnson putting up 14.

Pearl, who earned his 600th career win, was happy with his team’s performance in the clutch.

“The game was close,” Pearl said. “We couldā€™ve done a better job with stops. I wasnā€™t pleased at the end with some of the drive-bys. Youā€™ve got to guard your yard and youā€™ve got to get stops, so I was disappointed in that. It put a lot of pressure on our offense, but we shot 57 percent in the second half. But we got good looks, and we were able to, out of one of our sets, just sort of play out of it. We got some really good looks, and the kids executed.”

Here’s everything Pearl had to say after the season-ending victory:

Opening Statementā€¦

ā€œIt was really good to finish up winning two out of our last three, particularly winning these last two games at home against Tennessee and a good Mississippi State team. Mississippi State has four guys that are really good ā€“ the front line of (Abdul) Ado and (Tolu) Smith and (Iverson) Molinar and (DJ) Stewart in the backcourt ā€“ and they all were real factors. But our guys continued to compete. I can go right down the roster, but JT Thor, he leads us in rebounding. Heā€™s giving away 50-60 pounds in there and leads us in rebounding. Jaylin Williams, Iā€™ve talked about this a little bit, he can be a real problem and a real mismatch. He hasnā€™t been that every night. Well, down the stretch, he was an inside-out threat, and Iā€™ve got really high expectations for both those two young kids. And then Jamal Johnson once again, you talk about game balls or whatever, I talked about him after the Tennessee game ā€“ to play 38 minutes-plus and have seven assists and two turnovers and knock down four 3s, what can you say? Other than look, he can the position, too, and Iā€™m going to play him some point guard this offseason and next year. Allen Flanigan again a workhorse, scores 22 and doesnā€™t have a turnover, got in foul trouble in the first half. Dylan Cardwell 1 for 1 from 3. He works on that shot all the time. And then Chris Moore played a few more minutes tonight because we needed his physicality. He had a couple of big offensive rebounds, a big offensive-rebound basket, and just physically helped us out there. Good team effort and good to win two out of our last three.ā€

On making winning plays lateā€¦

ā€œWe did. The game was close. We couldā€™ve done a better job with stops. I wasnā€™t pleased at the end with some of the drive-bys. Youā€™ve got to guard your yard and youā€™ve got to get stops, so I was disappointed in that. It put a lot of pressure on our offense, but we shot 57 percent in the second half. But we got good looks, and we were able to, out of one of our sets, just sort of play out of it. We got some really good looks, and the kids executed. Again, the biggest thing is we only turned it over nine times. Thatā€™s the lowest all season long. We valued the ball, and you have to against a team that likes to play at a slower pace like Mississippi State.ā€

On celebrating 600 wins with the teamā€¦

ā€œIt was cool. I knew I was getting close, but I honestly did not know that I could get it (this season). Because letā€™s face it, when we were losing early in the year, I was not even thinking about it and didnā€™t really think it was possible. Looking at the schedule, too, right? With Florida, Tennessee, Alabama. Wes Flanigan came in the office and he goes, ā€˜You get this one Saturday, it will be your 600th.ā€™ I said, ā€˜I donā€™t think Iā€™m at 600. I know Iā€™m getting close.ā€™ He said, ā€˜Coach, it will be your 600th.ā€™ We didnā€™t say anything to the team. I didnā€™t say anything to the team. The biggest thing is Iā€™m old, Iā€™ve been doing this a long time. But Iā€™m just grateful to my coaches, staff, managers, the athletic directors that have hired me and retained me, the fans everywhere for giving me the opportunity, for trusting me to lead their programs. Iā€™m truly grateful. Humble. Blessed. Godā€™s blessed me beyond what I deserve. But I keep score, I do, and 600 is a big number. Seven hundred will be even better.ā€

On Allen Flaniganā€™s performanceā€¦

ā€œHe got downhill, he turned the corner. I kind of challenged him a little bit. Mississippi State was switching out, and I was like ā€˜Come on man, youā€™ve got to be able to drive by these big guys. Weā€™re getting you double gaps. You should be able to turn the corner.ā€™ He turned the corner a couple times and had some real tough 2s. He didnā€™t play for the foul, scored through the contact, and thatā€™s what heā€™s got to do. The fact that he played 20 minutes in the second half and didnā€™t have a turnover, that was huge. Valuing the ball, taking caring of business. I get on Al pretty good because I just have a very high expectation for him. Heā€™s a handful, but Iā€™m just telling you thereā€™s a lot of upside here. Heā€™s got a lot more to give.ā€

How to watch Auburn basketball vs. Mississippi State

Auburn plays its season finale on Saturday as the Tigers host Mississippi State in Auburn Arena.

In a game rescheduled from a couple of weeks ago, Auburn takes the court for the final time in the 2020-21 season as the Tigers host Mississippi State at Ā 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT on Saturday.

How to Watch

Matchup: Auburn Tigers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Where: Auburn Arena

Date:Ā March 6, 2021

Time:Ā 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT

Where to watch:Ā SEC Network

Line:Ā Auburn -1.5

ESPN BPI Matchup Predictor:Ā Auburn 50.7%

Key Players for Florida:Ā D.J. Stewart (16.4 points per game), Tolu Smith (8.5 rebounds per game), Deivon Smith (3.1 assists per game)

How to listen: Auburn Network

Everything Bruce Pearl said ahead of Auburn’s matchup against Mississippi State

Auburn plays its season finale on Saturday as the Tigers host Mississippi State in Auburn Arena.

Opening statementā€¦

ā€œI talked to the team yesterday. Going to practice yesterday was different because itā€™s just been a long time since we went to practice, I canā€™t even remember the last time, and we knew the season was going to be over at a certain point because youā€™re always going to the tournament. It was just different. My word for it with the team was different. Some of the guys had some different words. But weā€™ve managed to continue to come to practice and try to lock in, find ways and game plan and grind. I hope we can do that again tomorrow. Mississippi State is a really good defensive team. In their last five wins, theyā€™re holding teams down to 55 points. Itā€™s interesting. Last year, it was the first league game. This year, itā€™s the last league game. So itā€™s been the longest time possible between when these two teams have played. Last year, we scored 14 points in the first 14 minutes. Because we had also played pretty good defense, we hung in there and we got a great, great road win there last year because Mississippi State was really good last year. Theyā€™re a really good defensive team, great rebounding team, and theyā€™ve got a couple of interesting dynamics. Theyā€™ve got the two great guards in (Iverson) Molinar and (DJ) Stewart, who are fifth and sixth or so in the league in scoring. And theyā€™ve got two frontline guys in (Abdul) Ado and (Tolu) Smith, who together physically, rebounding, blocking shots, are the most imposing frontline. I think the fact that theyā€™re in the middle of our league right now speaks to how good league is. Theyā€™re 5-3 on the road. Two of the losses came at Alabama and at Tennessee, and they were single-digit losses and they had chances in those games. I think this is a Mississippi State team heading into the SEC Tournament thatā€™s got a chance to make some noise. Because theyā€™re not a juggernaut offensively and they do play at a slower pace and theyā€™ve not been a great free throw shooting team overall ā€“ although in this league I donā€™t think you have to because thereā€™s not that many free throws being shot ā€“ theyā€™re going to be in every game. Theyā€™re going to be in every game in Nashville. So itā€™s going to be interesting to see how they do come tournament time. Theyā€™re probably going to need to win a couple games to get in the NCAA Tournament, but theyā€™re good enough. So weā€™ve got to be able to defend, weā€™ve got to be able to rebound. Obviously, we struggle right now without a couple of our best offensive players, certainly without Sharife (Cooper), offensively. But the defense has been better, and the guys have really been competing. I know you guys have had a decent handle on the team all year long, so weā€™ll see if we can finish up and play our best game on Saturday, which will be required to win.ā€

On what has stood out in Mississippi Stateā€™s latest resultsā€¦

ā€œLike I said, 55 points. That’s not a lot of points to be giving up. They outrebound you. They lead the league in rebound margin. They’re shooting the ball a little bit better. Like I said, those four players, those four guys are dominating players at their positions. Yeah, they’re playing well. They’re big, too. They’re like the sixth-biggest team in the country. They’re really big.ā€

On building on the chemistry heading into the last game and into the springā€¦

ā€œWe haven’t had a spring in the last couple springs ā€“ last year due to COVID and the year before due to the Final Four run. So, we’re going to have a five-week spring conditioning program. Last year, we got to play a full regular season but didn’t get to play in the postseason at all. This year, we played pretty much a full season and there will be postseason. But this year everyone gets to come back. There will be a lot of sixth-year guys coming back next year. And those sixth-year guys, let’s say they’re 24, 25. They’ll be playing against 17-, 18-year-old freshman. It’s a little different. We played a full season this year and a full postseason. This whole everybody can come back next year thing, when we made that decision, it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me. It still doesn’t.ā€

On what it says about the players to not have a positive COVID test all seasonā€¦

ā€œIt says a lot. I know I’ve talked about it before. I don’t think Mississippi State has either, right? We’re the few teams in the whole country that have made it through. I just think it says a lot about the universities, it says a lot about our leadership, it says a lot about our campuses, that the students, and the faculty, and the leadership on campus, and the people in the community of Starkville and in Auburn, Alabama did the best they could to create a safe environment for this university and Mississippi State University to operate, to open, to teach. Our kids were in school, our kids were in class. People in other parts of the country could learn a lot from the leadership in Starkville or Auburn, Alabama about having the kids in school. I do think it speaks a lot to the frontline workers and caregivers on the medical side, as well as the people at the university that work on educating our kids and giving these students, and in this case these student-athletes, the opportunity. Our kids did a good job of staying socially distant, of masking up, of making sure they took care of their hygiene and washing their hands and doing the things that they needed to do. And yes, there were things that they had to sacrifice in order to stay COVID free.ā€

On if Devan Cambridge driving to the basket is an evolution of his gameā€¦

ā€œThatā€™s exactly right. Thatā€™s part of his evolution and development as a player. To be able to pick up the ability to turn corners and get downhill, and he has done a better job with that, and it is something he has worked on. Iā€™m looking forward to his offseason because weā€™re going to continue to develop that aspect of his game and build off his ability to shoot the basketball and obviously defend and use his length. Part of it also is not having a playmaking guard, either Justin (Powell) or Sharife (Cooper), or both in this case. More dribble penetration is going to be required from Allen Flanigan or Jamal Johnson or Devan Cambridge, other guys Jaylin Williams, JT Thor to be able to break the defense down off the bounce. I am really pleased with Devan. Heā€™s been our most consistent player in SEC play. That is a strong statement. Last year, he had those incredible highs, a couple huge games ā€“ Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina ā€“ thatā€™s just three that jump out at me. And then there were some games where it was feast or famine. He did not have a particularly good December or November. He wasnā€™t very productive. He wasnā€™t doing as much on either side of the ball. He went home and he and I talked during the Christmas break. He definitely came back with a different mental focus and a different mental toughness, and it does speak to the fact that mentally, he turned something on. He evaluated himself, he recognized, he was accountable, and he has done something about it and had a really good SEC run.ā€

On if increasing the tempo will help and the test JT Thor will have Saturdayā€¦

ā€œI donā€™t know whether weā€™re going to be fast. Weā€™re not as fast as weā€™ve been. And you know I smile because this will be a good test, because Herb Jones wasnā€™t a good enough test for him on Tuesday or last Saturday Yves Pons wasnā€™t a good enough test for him, so now he has got to go up against (Tolu) Smith. And the point is that young freshman has been tested every night, and heā€™s gotten better. You know he really has. Now our young front line gets to go against the biggest and most physical front line weā€™ll see all year long. And maybe thatā€™s a good thing heading into the offseason when we get those guys in the weight room.

On Sharife Cooperā€™s availabilityā€¦

ā€œWeā€™re going to practice this afternoon. I doubt it. He worked out yesterday, he went through some play call review. We didnā€™t have any contact. He just doesnā€™t look like he can push off as much as he would need to. So weā€™ll see how he does today. I guess I would just call it doubtful, but it is possible. Heā€™s getting closer. I just donā€™t know. I know heā€™s not 100 percent.ā€

Everything Bruce Pearl said after Auburn’s loss to Alabama

Auburn cut it to five points in the second half but couldn’t get any closer in a loss to rival Alabama.

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Opening Statementā€¦

ā€œWe shaved 24 points off the 94 that they got in Auburn Arena. It was our only chance. I thought our kids really competed, played hard, won the battle of the boards. Obviously for the game, if you look at Alabamaā€™s shooting percentages, we gave ourselves a chance to win. But offensively weā€™ve got some limitations. We werenā€™t able to make some shots that we made at home against Tennessee. We turned the ball over way too many times. We turned it over 23 times here. We only turned it over 12 times against Tennessee. Obviously, that was the difference in the game.ā€

On the cause of the turnoversā€¦

ā€œAlabama was much more aggressive. They trapped our ball screens and made it difficult for us to throw out. Then when we did get it down in there, at times, advantage/disadvantage at the post, we turned it over inside. Our point guards, between Allen (Flanigan) and Jamal (Johnson), partly because of the way Alabama defended, had nine turnovers. Our inside guys, on some of those roll downs, we didnā€™t finish it. Dylan Cardwell for example, had a couple of great dunks, a couple of great catches, but he also had a couple of turnovers on those throw downs. Some of them werenā€™t forced. It was probably the difference, offensively, between us scoring the points we scored. Alabama is a really good defensive team. One-on-one they can guard it. Theyā€™re the best one-on-one defensive team in the league. They can guard their yard. We had a step up defensively tonight, we did, but we were without our best offensive player in Sharife (Cooper) and it was hard to score.ā€

On cutting Alabamaā€™s lead to five later in the gameā€¦

ā€œFirst of all, we are not happy with the loss. Weā€™re not happy weā€™re getting swept. Weā€™re not happy we didnā€™t take advantage against our rival. Weā€™re not happy. Our guys battled. Again, to shave 24 (points) off of that, I told them it was an unbelievable effort. Part of our offensive problem was our roster and part of it was Alabama is a great defensive team. They forced us into a lot of looks. ā€˜Look how open he is.ā€™ We just couldnā€™t get it to him, and then if we did get it to him, Iā€™m not sure what he wouldā€™ve done. Would he have caught it? We played really hard and we had a really good defensive game plan, but youā€™ve got to make plays offensively. Individually, Jamal Johnson had a little bit of a run. Devan (Cambridge) made three 3s. Jaylin Williams was very productive tonight. Trying to get it to him more, need to get it to him more. We didnā€™t have enough offense to step up, and got no offense off our bench.ā€

Alabama completes the sweep over Auburn in final home game of season

Alabama gets win No. 20 on their home court as they sweep the Auburn Tigers for the first time since the 2014-2015 season.

The Alabama men’s basketball team earns win No. 20 on the season, with one game remaining, as the Crimson Tide take down Auburn for the second time in 2021 with a final score of 58-70.

No. 8 Alabama’s record improves to 206 overall with an SEC record of 15-2.

Crimson Tide fans had their last chance to say goodbye to the seniors tonight in the final home game of their collegiate careers.

Sophomore guard Jaden Shackelford led the team in scoring with 23 points, while seniors Herbert Jones and John Petty combined for 15 rebounds.

This was the program’s first sweep over Auburn in basketball since the 2014-2015 season.

Alabama seems locked in as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament, but will first have to go through the SEC tournament.

Up next for the 2020-2021 SEC regular season champions is a road game against Georgia.

Contact/Follow usĀ @RollTideWireĀ on Twitter, and like our page onĀ FacebookĀ to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

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Vols fall to Auburn, Bruce Pearl

Recapping Tennessee’s loss at Auburn Saturday.

Inconsistency has been a description of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team during the 2021 calendar yearĀ as the Volunteers have only won consecutive games three times since January.

Tennessee, the No. 25 team in the country, lost at Auburn, 77-72, after knocking off Vanderbilt in Nashville Wednesday night.

It also marked the Tigers’ sixth straight win over the Vols under former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl.

Pearl continued his dominance over the Vols and head coach Rick Barnes.

Pearl defeated Barnes twice during his time at UT when the current Vols’ head coach was in the same capacity at Texas.

Feb 27, 2021; Auburn, Alabama; Tennessee Volunteers guard Keon Johnson (45) shoots the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the second half at Auburn Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

In the latest installment of the Auburn series, Tennessee (16-7, 9-7 SEC) had three players post double figures in the scoring column. Freshmen Keon Johnson scored 23 points and Jaden Springer added 20. Senior Yves Pons scored 10 and pulled down eight rebounds.

Victor Bailey Jr. scored nine points for the Vols, who trailed 34-30 at halftime at Auburn Arena.

Allen Flanigan led the Tigers’ balanced offensive attack as he finished with 23 points. Devan Cambridge added 15 points, Jamal Johnson scored 14, while Jaylin Williams totaled 13 and JT Thor finished with 10.

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