Bruce Pearl isn't going to lie to his team. On Saturday, the Auburn coach knows a battle awaits the No. 2 Tigers (16-1) when No. 12 Kentucky arrives for a heavyweight matchup between two SEC and national-title contenders. But first, Auburn has a game against a struggling Georgia (5-12) squad that has lost six straight.

Pearl plans to tell it like it is.

"It's absolutely a trap game, but it's a trap game against our rival," the Auburn coach said.

There's also the simple fact that the Bulldogs have had Auburn's number in the past two seasons, splitting the season series, including a 91-86 victory in Auburn Arena last February. And, despite their record, Tom Crean's squad has been competitive in a couple of games. The Bulldogs took Texas A&M, now 4-0 in SEC play, to the wire in an 81-79 loss while holding a double-digit lead over Vanderbilt before losing by seven.

Pearl says that Georgia takes advantage of its ability to drive to the hole, and the Bulldogs shoot more free throws than any other team in the conference.

"They've got good personnel," Pearl said. "And Tom Crean's teams always play hard. And they play from the beginning to the game to the end of the game."

If looking for another motivating factor, the Auburn coach can also point out Saturday's game against Ole Miss, in which the Rebels came out hot, building a 14-point lead. Pointing out that the Tigers got pounded for the first 17 minutes against Ole Miss, Pearl expects everyone's best shot, especially against a rival such as Georgia.

"It's like being in a boxing match," Pearl said. "I would expect that from Georgia."