For No. 14 Auburn, grind continues at Texas A&M
Auburn lost its SEC opener at Ole Miss last week. Then it won its conference home opener against Georgia on Saturday. Now the No. 14 Tigers (12-3, 1-1) will take another crack at getting a conference win on the road when they visit Texas A&M (7-7, 1-2) on Wednesday. Life in the SEC is a grind, Tigers coach Bruce Pearl said. "I don't know that there's a team in our league that can't win anywhere, whether it's home or on the road," he said. "You see five teams that are ranked and eight teams that are either ranked or getting votes. The road teams have had some success. "If you look at the teams that are at the bottom right now, they've either beaten or been right there with some of the teams that are at the top of the league. Some of the teams that are at the bottom during the non-conference are now up at the top. It's just been really competitive. "I think the grind for us, for the 16 games that are remaining, is getting excited about playing each and every opponent." Next up are the Aggies, who are coming off a last-second 81-80 win at Alabama on Saturday. "We have to get every one we have a chance to get because it is so competitive," Pearl said. "And certainly, as it relates to competing for a championship, we can't let there get much distance between us and (third-ranked) Tennessee. You need to win some on the road if we're going to be able to have the kind of year we want to have." Auburn is the defending regular-season conference champion, but this year's team is still finding itself. "Right now, we are competitive and right now that is just all we are," Pearl said. "We won a championship a year ago but right now, all we are is competitive and we have a long way to go." The Tigers were ranked No. 8 last season when the visiting Aggies upset them, 81-80. T.J. Starks, who scored a career-high 23 points in that game, banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give A&M the victory over the Crimson Tide by the same score. "Hopefully, this gives us some energy and confidence," Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said after Saturday's win. Alabama led for all but four minutes of the game, including a 43-32 halftime edge. Savion Flagg had 14 of his 16 points in the second half as A&M fought back. He made two free throws with four seconds left. One second later, Alabama made 1 of 2 free throw attempts, setting up Starks' game-winning opportunity. He took an in-bounds pass in the backcourt, dribbled into the frontcourt and launched the winner while on the run. Josh Nebo finished with a season-high 21 points, making 10 of 12 shots, and he added seven rebounds and four blocks. Wendell Mitchell helped keep the Aggies, who committed just three turnovers in the game, within striking distance by scoring 10 of his 18 points in the first half. --Field Level Media |