Even with a title, Auburn still has ‘a lot to play for’ at A&M
AUBURN — As Johni Broome and his teammates declared, Auburn ain’t sharing.
Saturday could not have gone any better for the Tigers. Auburn went to Rupp Arena and went nearly wire-to-wire for its first road win over Kentucky since 1988. A couple of hours later, on a bus at an airport, the team learned it was the outright SEC regular-season champion after Tennessee’s buzzer-beating win over Alabama.
At 15-1 with two games remaining, Auburn has already locked up the title of what many have determined to be the single-toughest conference season in the history of men’s college basketball. The SEC could set a record for the most teams from one conference in an NCAA Tournament field. Four of the top six and six of the top 15 teams in the NET rankings reside in the same league.
With an outright title in that league already clinched, how does Auburn handle its final two games of the regular season — starting with Tuesday night at Texas A&M?
Do the Tigers rest stars like Broome? Do they use these games to experiment? Do they ease the throttle before the postseason?
“No, no,” Bruce Pearl said Monday. “Absolutely not. … We have got a lot to play for.”
Yes, there’s still a lot at stake for Auburn, even if there aren’t any more conference championship implications.
Auburn is, first and foremost, trying to become the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. That would ensure the Tigers got the best possible draw and, most importantly, got to play in Atlanta if they advanced to the second weekend.
And, as long as there are games to be played, there are opportunities for Auburn to add onto a tournament résumé that is closing in on best-ever territory. The Tigers have a record 10 Quad 1A wins right now. They are just one away from tying 2023 Kansas for the most overall Quad 1 wins. Their Wins Above Bubble mark, per T-Rank, is the best since the 2015 Kentucky team that only lost at the Final Four.
But, considering its chief rival for that throne is an ultra-talented Duke team that is obliterating analytics marks and is responsible for one of only two losses this season, Auburn isn’t interested in letting up any time soon. It’s trying to leave zero doubt for the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
There’s also some conference and team history left to be made. Auburn is trying to become only the second team in the last decade to go a perfect 9-0 in SEC road games. And, if the Tigers can win either of their matchups this week, they’ll set new all-time bests for the program in both overall and conference wins in a regular season.
Because of that, there’s no time to celebrate. There’s no time to reflect. It was quite telling — and quite representative of the way Auburn has handled this spectacular season — that the vast majority of Pearl’s presser Monday was about this next game.
“I can only see Texas A&M on Tuesday, and I continue to take it one day at a time,” Pearl said.
Auburn was able to clinch the toughest conference ever with a full week to spare by taking this approach.
Sure, there was plenty of celebration after that historic win at Kentucky, both inside Rupp Arena and back home on the Plains. But it’s the ability to turn around and move onto the next game that has made Auburn a champion.
Yes, Auburn lost to a Final Four-caliber team in Florida. Yet Florida lost to Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky. Auburn went a perfect 5-0 against those teams. Alabama lost to Missouri and Tennessee, too, along with a home loss to Ole Miss. Auburn went a perfect 4-0 against those teams and got the road win at Alabama.
This, Pearl says, was Auburn’s ultimate separator in this regular season.
“What team respects every opponent you play and gets excited about playing every single night?” Pearl said. “This team. Every team has letdowns, right? Not this team. And they’re to be commended for that. It’s a combination of respecting your opponent and a real desire to make history.”
With that in mind, Auburn still has plenty to play for Tuesday night at Texas A&M.
“We know we’ve got a tough matchup against a team that is as athletic and as deep as any team in our league,” Pearl said. “They play as hard as anybody in the league. They turn you over. They’re the best offensive rebounding team in the league and one of the best in the country. They do a phenomenal job in transition and getting to the foul line.
“There’s a lot of challenges to this matchup.”
While Auburn might not be interested in resting starters or anything like that in its pursuit of more history, it might not be at full strength to open the week.