AUBURN, Alabama – Despite playing perhaps his best overall game of last season in an unbalanced victory in South Carolina, Auburn’s head basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, said he expects a physically difficult test from the Gamecocks in Colombia. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CST Tuesday with TV coverage on the SEC network.
“We don’t have a good record there,” Pearl said. “We won last year (109-86), but we lost three before.”
Auburn leads the series against South Carolina 27-19 and is 12-9 in games played in Columbia, SC, and the Tigers are 7-4 at Colonial Life Center, the current home of the Gamecocks .
“Defense and rebound, we’re talking about winning championships,” Pearl said. “South Carolina is one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in our league. They average 14 1/2 offensive rebounds per game, which has been a problem for us at times. They are 11th (nationally) in field goal percentage defense. We managed to score 70 (points) against LSU, but it was difficult.
“They’re a really good defensive team, they’re big, physical and (make) it difficult to run your business,” Pearl said. “Frank (Martin) is one of the best defensive coaches in the country. They scored 105 in their last home outing (105-75 against the military). They play very well at home. They shoot very well at home.
Auburn, who is 12-1 and ranked ninth in the AP & Coaches poll, is still in the works, according to his head coach, who disliked the team’s 21 turnovers in the victory of the last week against LSU. He also noted that the offense was “stagnant” during the first and second half periods against LSU.
“If you get through your attack on South Carolina, they won’t let you execute it,” Pearl said. “They’re going to let you in, they’re going to make your holds difficult, the pressure of the ball will get in your way and they’re very physical on the inside. We need to be able to play on contact and do our free throws at a higher percentage, especially when you’re on the road.
The Tigers make 71% of their free throws, 44.4% on the field and 34.6% on three-pointers.
“There are a lot of things that we need to keep improving, but it would be difficult to complain about the current situation,” said Pearl. “I just hope we can take advantage of it.”
South Carolina, which is 9-3 overall, is 6-0 at the Colonial Life Center this season.
“This team has won victories over Western Kentucky, Georgetown and Florida State,” said Pearl. “They played a good schedule so it’s a good opportunity against a good team.
“While we had some success on the road, we’re 2-0 down, we were also down 15 in South Florida and 13 in Saint Louis, so that’s the reality … Hopefully the Saint Louis game will give us a real taste of what it’s going to look like and what it’s going to look like because we were really up against it. We can’t keep losing 13 and 15 on the road and expect to come back and to win matches. ”
With three of Auburn’s next four games away from Auburn Arena, Pearl said, “It’s an interesting segment of our season right now.”
With Devan cambridge Returning after missing the previous game due to pandemic protocols, the Tigers are expected to take the field at full strength. Cambridge’s place in the starting lineup for the 70-55 win over LSU was managed by Allen Flanigan, who played 29 minutes in his second injury return game (Achilles partially torn).
Pearl said on Monday that Flanigan had no problem managing the minutes. The junior goalie was exceptional in last year’s game in South Carolina, leading the Tigers with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists while making four of six three-pointers.
Pearl noted that the key to success for the Tigers on Tuesday will be limiting South Carolina’s offensive rebounds and matching his physique. “It’s going to have to be a game where we have our most physical game in order to take away what they’re good at.”
Auburn’s coach said playing physical opponents in the pre-conference calendar like UCF and Murray State is a bit of a preview of what the Tigers can expect in Colombia, but added: “You really can’t prepare for the physical aspect of a Franck martin team until you go in and play them. We will be physically challenged at every position and you have to play hard, and play physically, without fouling them.
“Every game is different,” added Pearl. “It’s one thing about the SEC season grind. The things we had to do against LSU – the rebound was important, the physique and the athleticism, but South Carolina is going to protect us completely differently than the way LSU has protected us. The things that will be available to us are different. Can we make that adjustment quickly. “
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