Pearl 'thrilled' Auburn up to 18th in RPI

AUBURN | Auburn is 6-1, its best start in five years, and has moved up to No. 18 in the official NCAA RPI rankings.

That’s a pretty good start for Bruce Pearl’s third season on the Plains.

“Oh, thrilled with the RPI. But it just tells you how the RPI doesn't really mean a lot early in the season,” Pearl said. “But what it does say is, 'OK, all I can do is everything I can control.' And that's how you schedule.

“So when you play against the teams that we've played against, like take North Florida or Georgia State or Eastern Kentucky or South Carolina Upstate: Those teams have all played very difficult schedules. It's why I played them. Teams that are near or at the top of their league, but teams that are willing to play four or five teams like us and that helps our RPI (because) of who they're playing. And that's why we've done it. And being 6-1 helps, too.”

After an eight-day break for finals following Auburn’s 74-70 win at UAB, the Tigers will return to action Monday against Boston College at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Pearl said UAB “hit us right in the mouth” in the first half but credited his young team, which starts three freshmen and two sophomores, for not panicking and battling back in the second half.

“Like it was last year and regardless of what happens to us this year, it's going to go down as one of our better wins,” Pearl said.

After the game against Boston College (4-4), the Tigers will host Coastal Carolina (4-6) and Mercer (5-4) before traveling to Connecticut to take on Oklahoma (6-2) and Connecticut (4-4).

Conference play begins Dec. 29 with a home game against Georgia.

“We're excited about trying to continue to build our record,” Pearl said. “We’ve got to rebound better. we've got to try to keep consistently defending better, keep sharing the ball.”

The Tigers began the 2011-12 season 8-1.

Auburn’s game against Boston College is scheduled for Monday at 5:30 p.m. CT on FS1.