AUBURN | Bruce Pearl has been concerned about No. 16 Auburn’s toughness since the start of conference play and that was only exacerbated during Saturday’s loss to Kentucky.

Now, Pearl is faced with a quick turnaround before Tuesday night’s game at South Carolina, a team Pearl considers even more physical than the Wildcats.

“I thought that Kentucky physically, they got the better of us,” Pearl lamented. “They outrebounded us. They fouled us really hard at the rim. There was hook and hold plays, it was a pretty chippy contest.

“And South Carolina plays harder and more physically than Kentucky does. We're gonna have to be able to respond to the elevated play and elevated physicality. We've got to find a way to get to the foul line ourselves more.”

The Tigers have attempted just 64 free throws in four conference games while their opponents have nearly doubled that total with 120. Auburn has been outscored 87-45 at the charity stripe, costing it more than 10 points per game.

Auburn will be without one of the team’s most physical players, starting center Austin Wiley, for a second-straight game as he nurses an injury to his lower right leg. Against UK, both of AU’s centers, Anfernee McLemore and Horace Spencer, fouled out.

“There were times when they were both pressed up on the perimeter, which we like to do,” Pearl explained. “But then as soon as Kentucky's bigs put the ball on the floor, they stayed pressed up. You've got to retreat, you've got to be able to guard in space and not try to chest up and try to make that there. Because that contact on the floor gets called.”

If Auburn’s players need a little inspiration when it comes to toughness they can look to Spencer. A hard foul in the second half of the UK game sent him to the locker room where he took six stitches in his head before quickly returning to the game.

“Horace had the best plus-minus in the game,” Pearl said. “Horace is our toughest, most physical player. That’s what would stand to reason in a game like that. You point him out, you compliment him and you move on to see if we can learn from that.”

Auburn enters the game 13-4 overall and 2-2 in the SEC while South Carolina is 9-8 and 4-1. The Gamecocks are led by freshman guard A.J. Lawson, who averages 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

Senior forward Chris Silva is a tough matchup inside averaging 11.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

“It starts and ends with Silva. He’s a very active, hard-playing big-man. He gets to the foul line probably as much or more than any big in our league,” Pearl said.

Tip-off at Colonial Life Arena is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.