Bruce Pearl explains what changed for Auburn in second half of Kentucky win

‘It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish’ is an old saying that’s used in many aspects of life – especially in sports. For the No. 2 ranked Auburn men’s basketball team, they certainly lived by that saying on Saturday in their marquee showdown against No. 12 Kentucky at Auburn Arena.

Auburn dug itself into a 17-7 hole six minutes into the game and trailed 33-29 at halftime. On upset alert, the Tigers turned things around in the second half – outscoring Kentucky 51-38 to come out on top with an 80-71 win.

Following Auburn’s come-from-behind victory over the Wildcats, Tigers’ head coach Bruce Pearl met with the media and was asked what changed for his team in the second half of Saturday’s game.

“Well, we stopped turning the ball over,” Pearl said. “We did a better job of executing, did a better job with our spacing. We weren’t very organized for stretches and we came away with a lot of empty possessions. Give Kentucky credit – they extended, they drove us out of things, they played our strong hands. … It was an excellent defensive game by Kentucky, and it certainly bothered us.

“We made some adjustments, and we anticipated some of that. We obviously did a better job in the second half with the offense in front of my bench.”

Auburn’s win over Kentucky stretched its winning streak to 15 straight games and improved its overall record to 18-1 and SEC mark to a perfect 7-0. The Tigers are back in action Tuesday on the road at Missouri, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

Pearl on possibility of Auburn being ranked No. 1

Following Auburn’s 80-71 win over Ole Miss on Jan. 15, Bruce Pearl was asked what it would mean for the Tigers to be ranked No. 1 in the nation.

“We’ve been managing the target a little bit for the last week or so because we’ve kind of put ourselves in a position all of a sudden where we started climbing the rankings a little bit,” Pearl said. “Look, we’re going to get beat. And when we get beat, it’s not because we rested on our laurels or started to pay attention to the media. Ole Miss was good enough to beat us and made good enough plays to beat us. They outplayed us for the first 18 minutes of that game.

“But, at the same time, it is historic, and it does matter, and it does mean something. That will be a proud moment for Auburn – period. Our university and our athletic department. I understand that it doesn’t mean much right now, but it still makes a very strong statement.”