Everything Bruce Pearl said as No. 3 Auburn prepares for Ole Miss

AUBURN – The Tigers remain in first place in the league race – one game ahead of No. 6/3 Kentucky (22-5, 11-3 SEC). The last two weeks of conference play will be crucial as Auburn looks to secure a No. 1 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament and win a regular-season title outright. Both weeks will include a home and away contest (Ole Miss and at Tennessee – at Mississippi State and South Carolina).

For the fifth time this season, sophomore forward Jabari Smith was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, after pouring in 59 points in consecutive games against Vanderbilt and Florida combined. His 31 points versus the Commodores marked a career high for the rookie.

Sophomore big man Walker Kessler is four blocks shy of breaking the school single-season record in the category (126 by Kyle Davis in 2002-03). As a team, the Tigers have blocked 222 shots this season – already a single-season record.

The Rebels ended a four-game skid with an 85-68 road victory at Georgia on Feb. 19. Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State were the only two SEC schools to win on the road this past weekend.

Auburn won the first meeting between both schools, 80-71, on Jan. 15 in Oxford, Miss. The Tigers previously claimed series sweeps against the Rebels in 2017-18 and 2019-20. Bruce Pearl is looking for his third sweep of Ole Miss in the past five seasons.

RELATED: Comparing season finishes of Bruce Pearl’s three best Auburn teams to this season

Bruce Pearl speaks before Auburn hosts Ole Miss

“They are a team that hasn’t given up. I look back, they’ve had injuries, sickness, and they’re playing some of their better basketball right now. They beat Florida at home, they lost to Arkansas, they won at LSU, then they lost at Florida, so we know what that’s like. They lost at home to Alabama and South Carolina in overtime, then win at Georgia. It’s team that’s capable. They have seven guys that can make the three. That’s what makes them dangerous. In late-game situations, Florida lined us up and made some tough three balls. You’re going to see that from people because of our interior defense.

“(Jarkell) Joiner and (Matthew) Murrell are great players. We didn’t see Joiner the first time. He’s in and Ruffin is out. It requires a great deal of effort and energy to guard them. Defensively we were good against Florida, but we haven’t been at our best on the offensive end the last couple of weeks.”

What’s up with the slow starts on offense? “It’s a combination of us not executing. As the season progresses, the scouting reports get more detailed and you play opponents for the second time, you have to change things up. I thought the kids were locked in and bought in throughout the year, as we begin to try and put in some of the details to build on the basics of our offense to be harder to guard, we haven’t done as well, and we aren’t executing. That could be part of it. Our shooting percentages – we as a team haven’t shot it as well. When we start playing our best, is when we start to get hot making shots from three and free. We haven’t done that.”

How can you improve the three-point shooting? “That’s an area we need to shoot better from. We can always get better looks. It’s a difference maker. Florida made five or six contested threes that won the game. We’re going to continue to work at it. When we make those shots, we’ll be playing better.”

Bruce Pearl talks more on the first meeting: “Their guards fly around and they are really meticulous in their offensive execution. They were on pace early in our game to score a lot of points. They had 35 points in the first 12 minutes. We had a great offensive day, we scored 80, shot 50 percent, we had a good day. But, we were playing better offensively the last time we played Ole Miss. We have to lock in how to guard Ole Miss. They are an excellent half-court offensive team.”

What is practice like after a loss? “Typically those are pretty good days. You’re trying to get that taste out of your mouth. Our guys want to win a championship. They have four games left in the regular season and they are four tough games. They practiced, competed, they are communicating with each other. I told them, looking at the standings, and I’m looking at the teams that are 7-7 in our league — I didn’t go there, but where I went was gosh there’s some good teams in there. Alabama, LSU, Florida just beat us, Mississippi State, South Carolina — it makes you appreciate what our guys have done. It makes me appreciate it.”

On Jabari Smith’s impact the last two games: “He’s just a competitor. He’s an absolute competitor. He wants to win. That’s all. When you play good opponents, everyone on the court is challenged. When you. Play a lesser opponent, there are some guys on the court that are going to have laser matchups. In the league, everybody is challenged at their matchup. That’s when the great ones are going to rise. Jabari is better than his matchup every night. We’re best when everybody contributes. We need Jabari to keep doing what he’s doing, but not to carry us. He’s had to carry us a little bit because some of the other guys haven’t played as well as they need to play for us to be a championship team. He’s doing more because he has to right now. Everybody wants him to do more, but I’m not pushing that.”

What does Bruce Pearl think about handshake lines after the incident between Michigan and Wisconsin? “If you look at the players, they are dabbing each other, hugging each other. When you get done, when you watch boxing, these guys are in the ring beating each other, how could they embrace after they’ve been slugging each other? They’re competitors, warriors, respect the opponent.

“For me, when I see that, I think it’s great how the kids dab each other once the game is over. I don’t think there’s any reason to do away with the handshake line. Emotions at Wisconsin got high and the coaches didn’t handle it as well. I’ve been in those situations and I’ve made mistakes. Nobody is pointing any fingers. I’m not in favor of getting rid of those handshake lines. It’s a good way to demonstrate sportsmanship. The game is over, go shake hands and go to your locker room. I’ve been in situations that aren’t perfect, but you do the best you can and do the right thing.”