With Auburn down five in the second half of Saturday's matchup against Florida, Jabari Smith Jr. calmly drained a three and then, when getting back on the defensive end, started pumping his wide-open hands down toward the floor in a way to signal, "It's going to be okay."
After the Tigers couldn't get a last-second shot off as the Gators pulled off the upset, the freshman might have wanted to signal the same thing to Auburn supporters around the nation. But, since he didn't, I will.
Relax! Or, as a kid of the 1980s, take a chill pill. The calendar reads February, and this team (24-3, by the way) will be fine. Yes, the Tigers have struggled during the last four or so games, and GASP! They lost two of them on the road. But let me take you back to a long time ago. I'm speaking of all the way back in 2019.
Bruce Pearl was the coach. Auburn had two guards struggling after hot starts to the season. A close loss at No. 21 LSU occurred on February 9, followed by a dismal loss to Ole Miss at home that put the Tigers at 16-6 on the season and 5-6 in SEC play. Ten days later, any deep run in the NCAA Tournament looked like a foolish prediction as Auburn got run out of Rupp Arena in devastating fashion, losing 80-53.
We all remember what happened next, right? And, here is a little secret: this year's team is better than the 2019 team in almost every possible category.
When a team looks as unbeatable as the Tigers did in December and January, fan angst will rise to a high level when things start to go badly. Looking at Auburn's cross-state rival, the sky begins to fall after every rare loss, and fans begin to question their leader as if he isn't one of the greatest coaches in the history of college sports. Success brings expectations, and when a little adversity comes calling, things get blown out of proportion.
Pearl knew a couple of tough losses were coming and warned everyone who would listen that these times would strengthen his team and make them tougher. He's seen it before. It happened in 2019. It seemed to be happening in 2020 before the season was abruptly canceled.
It took one of the worst first halves of the Pearl era to give the Gators confidence that they could pull off the upset on Saturday. The ball flew everywhere except into the hands of Tiger players and the bottom of the net. It was, frankly, hideous basketball. Yet this team never stopped fighting, even when things looked bleak, trailing by eight points with 2:16 to go and everything trending toward the Gators.
If Auburn makes the last shot and pulls out the victory, everyone would discuss this team's resilience. That's not how it went, though, so there is a little bit of panic surrounding this team. So let me help those that are starting to question the Tigers: this team is good, really good, and can be great.
So take a deep breath. There are still four regular-season games, the SEC tournament and March Madness awaiting this team, and another historical run is just a hot streak away.
Turn off the fire alarm, step back from the ledge and remember that a national title, the main goal of this team, isn't won or lost in February.
As Jabari motioned on Saturday, things are okay.
