The Auburn men’s basketball team will look to right the ship on Saturday, as they take on the Georgia Bulldogs on a full week of rest.
It’s no secret that Auburn has had its fair share of struggles on the road, but there are still opportunities for head coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers to grab some wins away from home.
“There are some that would say, ‘We don’t play at home, we don't win.’ We have not played great on the road this year,” Pearl said. “We have three more opportunities in our last five games to dispel that.”
The first test at Georgia is one that should prove more difficult than it may appear. Georgia comes into the contest with a lackluster 5-8 record in conference play, with only two of those wins coming at Stegeman Coliseum. However, Georgia has played in a number of close contests, losing to Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida and Alabama by single digits.
A crucial loss that the Tigers will be dealing with is the absence of graduate student Jaylin Williams. Williams was averaging 13 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Tigers before suffering a leg injury in the Kentucky game.
With Williams missing out, players like junior Chaney Johnson and senior Dylan Cardwell will look to make an impact in their extended minutes.
“Chaney has always been one of our harder workers,” Pearl said. “He’s in [the gym] almost every morning, and yes, it’ll be an opportunity for him to play some more, Dylan Cardwell to play some more, Chris Moore to maybe move around a little bit, Lior Berman. To replace Jaylin, it’s going to have to be by committee.”
Auburn will also be fresh coming into the contest, as the Tigers enjoyed a long week without a game. They were the last team in the SEC, along with South Carolina, to have their bye week.
“We did take a couple days off this week, which I thought we needed mentally more than anything,” Pearl said. “They can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have five games left in the regular season and they understand that these are all still precious. We still can finish 1st to 7th in this league.”
A rested and rejuvenated Tiger squad should be primed to play at a fast pace this weekend, as they hope to fix their road shooting woes. A solid shooting night from Auburn guards, as well as some key performances in the absence of Jaylin Williams will be hugely important if the Tigers hope to leave Athens with a win.
The league matchup is scheduled to tip off Saturday at 5 p.m. CT, and can be viewed live on the SEC Network. For radio coverage, Auburn Sports Network will have the call from Athens.
