AUBURN | An 11-1 record, knocking on the door of the top 10 and already No. 10 in the NET rankings — it’s been a good start for Auburn.
The Tigers will enter SEC play next week riding an eight-game winning streak and with the confidence they’ve made big improvements as a team over the first month and a half of the season.
“We’ve got a great locker room, great kids, great culture. We’ve got to get better to win the league,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl following Wednesday night’s 71-58 win over Murray State.
“We’ve gotten a lot better in the month of December. For those of you guys who have watched our team play throughout the year, boy oh boy, have we made progress from the exhibition season and the months of November and December. This team is playing much better. We’ve got ways to go though.”
There’s still plenty of areas No. 12 Auburn needs to improve on starting with rebounding. The Tigers are last in the league allowing opponents 36.7 rebounds per game and are 11th with a +2.18 rebounding margin..
Auburn has attempted just 143 free throws this season, which is tied for 10th in the conference.
After being out-rebounded 46-27 by St. Louis Saturday, the Tigers bounced back to out-rebound the Racers 48-33. Getting to the line continued to be an issue, however, with Murray State attempting 21 free throws to AU’s 12.
“We still have to do a better job of scoring through contact — that’s an issue,” said Pearl. “This is the sixth game in a row where our opponents have shot more free throws than we have. So, that’s on us.”
Having Allen Flanigan back — he played for the first time against Murray State — should help both areas. The junior excels at driving and drawing fouls and averaged 5.5 rebounds from his guard position last season.
The Tigers open SEC play next Wednesday as No. 17 and undefeated LSU visits Auburn Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
GAME COVERAGE: Auburn 71, Murray State 58
Flanigan back as Tigers keep rolling
