Bruce Pearl addresses need for better bench production

Auburn lost its fourth game in five outings earlier this week on the road 83-78 against Texas A&M. 10 total points came from the Tigers’ bench on the night, which wasn’t enough to head coach Bruce Pearl.

He was still able to find some positives amid Auburn’s toughest losing stretch of the said.

“I thought the bench had a great first half. They weren’t as good in the second half, but again, we scored 78 and that’s usually enough to win on the road,” Pearl said postgame. “[Our bench] could not stop them in the second half, we fouled them too much and that was the difference.”

Pearl had six players come off the bench, three of which went scoreless and none scored more than five points. Instead, Auburn was led by its starting lineup that saw four of its five score in double figures. Wendell Green was the team’s leader with 20 points, but it still wasn’t good enough to earn the road win.

The loss earns Texas A&M a season sweep over the Tigers, the only team to do so to them in a multi-game series this year. Still, Auburn remains tied for fourth place in the current SEC standings heading into Saturday’s game slate.

To make matters worse, Auburn will battle rival No. 3 Alabama Saturday, though thankfully for the Tigers it will be inside Auburn Arena. The atmosphere alone keeps the Crimson Tide as just a 2.5-point favorite over the Tigers at home. This defensive-minded Auburn team will be reeling to find working matchups against the lengthy, explosive Alabama offense that tops the SEC in points per game.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET live on ESPN as Auburn looks to secure its biggest win of the season. Alabama has won 12 of its last 13 games and is looking to run through its rival en route to what they’re hoping will be a 1-seed-worthy resume when March Madness rolls around.