Bruce Pearl proud of how Auburn responded to momentum shifts vs. Alabama

It was always going to be an emotionally charged game when the Auburn Tigers took on the Alabama Crimson Tide as two of the top teams in the country. With that came runs of momentum, which Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl feels his team handled incredibly well.

After the game, Pearl shared just how proud he was of the Tigers and how they handled those momentum shifts. In particular, he called out how well his team shot late in the game, getting contributions from multiple players.

“We made eight of our last 10 field goals,” Bruce Pearl said. “Alright, that’s how you close out a game. I thought that Tahaad [Pettiford] hit a big one in transition, wasn’t afraid to take that shot, kind of blew the lead up a little bit. Chad Baker-Mazara, we didn’t have much offense running, we were trying to get the ball inside, and I don’t know if the score was tied, it was pretty close. Bang, he hits a three-ball just with some experience.”

Auburn finished the game shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. On top of that, six different players managed to score in double digits. That helped to overcome the rebounding deficit the Tigers faced as well as some pretty big foul trouble that Auburn ran into as a team.

“What our locker room feels good about right now is so many guys contributed. Chris Moore played seven minutes, was plus-17 starting for a banged-up Chad Baker-Mazara. So, when we talk about that lineup, and guys were all over Chris Moore. Everybody contributed. Dylan Cardwell fouls out and we lost one of our best defenders. We just didn’t panic,” Pearl said. “Late in the game, I am kind of looking down and to say we got a couple guys fouled out. We managed.”

Throughout the game, Auburn was largely in control. The Tigers built up that lead with a strong run early in the second half. Of course, Alabama didn’t go to bed easily, and a 10-0 run made it a three-point game in the second half before the Tigers quashed the Crimson Tide’s momentum, pulling away to win 94-85.

It was a massive win for Bruce Pearl and Auburn. The win put the Tigers in sole possession of first place in the SEC standings, one game ahead of Alabama with six games remaining this season. That includes a rematch between these two teams. First, however, the Tigers are going to focus on a home game against the Arkansas Razorbacks.