The Stretch 4: Auburn gears up for another full 40 from Georgia
The Bulldogs might be struggling, but the Tigers know that doesn't matter. Besides, they've got a conference championship to chase.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
AUBURN — What was the difference between Auburn and Arkansas?
Heading into Wednesday night, Vegas had the gap at about 15.5 points. If you looked at the SEC standings, the answer was seven games. Metrics such as NET, KenPom and T-Rank put the gap at more than 30 spots.
But, when the final buzzer sounded Wednesday night, the actual difference between Auburn and Arkansas was just seven points.
And it was even closer than that until the very end.
“With three minutes left to go, the 4-9 team had a lead,” said Bruce Pearl, who is in charge of the only 12-1 team in the SEC. “So, what's the difference between us and Arkansas? Little difference. So, yeah, it tells you that all 40 minutes matter.”
On Saturday, Auburn will follow up its 67-60 escape against Arkansas with a rematch against a Georgia team that Pearl believes has “a lotta similarities.”
Like Arkansas, Georgia will head into Neville Arena with a 4-9 conference record. It’s also a defense-first bunch, currently ranked in the top 35 nationally on KenPom for adjusted defensive efficiency.
Unlike Arkansas, Georgia started strong but has faded in conference play. The Bulldogs have dropped three straight, four of their last five and eight of their last 10. Since its last meeting with Auburn, Georgia’s only wins have come at home against the two worst teams in the SEC. Their current slide has taken them from nationally ranked to bottom five in the league.
But, again like Arkansas, Georgia has already taken this Auburn team down to the wire. Mike White’s team had multiple opportunities to tie the game — or even win it — at the end of a chaotic final minute in Athens on January 18. Auburn held on, 70-68.
The Bulldogs still have a ton of work to do to get into the NCAA Tournament. But they also know that an upset over the No. 1 team in the country could turn their slim chances into a real possibility.
“I think the Auburn game there — when they were undefeated at home and nationally ranked — that was one of their bigger games,” Pearl said of Georgia. “And I think this one here now is (their biggest game), simply because of what the math does for them. You know, our NET is so strong, because the number of Quad 1 wins.
“(A win) probably moves them from being off the bubble or wherever they're at to, now, they're close to being right in the tournament. And so you say, ‘Hey, we may not be better than Auburn. But we could be 40 minutes better than Auburn.’”
Auburn has been used to getting a maximum-effort set of 40 minutes from its opponent all SEC season long. The target has been on the Tigers’ backs since they stormed through the toughest non-conference schedule in the country with just a single loss.
“We've got to understand that those guys are trying to ruin our season,” small forward Chris Moore said Friday.
Going down to the wire and, sometimes, having to win ugly against hungry underdogs is nothing new to this team. And that’s why it’s currently holding a two-game lead over its closest competition in what looks like the most demanding conference race in the modern era of men’s college basketball.
“Every game is challenging, but what we (say) in the locker room is we’re competing for a championship,” center Dylan Cardwell said. “If we drop one of these games, we shoot ourselves in the foot for an SEC championship. So these games might mean a lot to these other teams, but they mean just as much to us.
“It’s tough playing against teams that have extra motivation, like, ‘Hey, our postseason depends on this.’ But, for us, a ring depends on this.”
For a full breakdown of Auburn’s rematch against Georgia inside Neville Arena on Saturday afternoon, here is this week’s edition of The Stretch 4.
(David Gray/Auburn Tigers)