Bruce Pearl sends message to Auburn students, fans after Kentucky win

On3 imageby:Chandler Vessels01/22/22

ChandlerVessels

Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl was proud of the student turnout Saturday against Kentucky. In his postgame interview following an 80-71 victory against the Wildcats, Pearl gave a shout out to the student section.

“We should rebuild that plaza out there,” the coach said. “It needs to be renamed and it needs to be Jungle City. It needs to live outside of Auburn Arena. …We should create Jungle City and I bet you I could get a few donors to help with that project.”

The Jungle is the official name of the Tigers student section, which had a massive turnout Saturday. Seats were so in demand that students camped outside of Auburn Arena on Friday night in hopes of securing a good spot. Those who braved the cold temperatures were rewarded when doors opened at 10:30 a.m.

Behind a raucous crowd, Auburn overcame a 10-point deficit to claim its 15th straight victory. Fans stayed loud the entire way, chanting “No. 1” in the final moments. The Tigers are currently No. 2 in the AP poll, tied for the highest ranking in program history.

Kentucky point guard TyTy Washington left the game with an ankle injury after just eight minutes. The Wildcats still managed to take a 33-29 lead into halftime. Auburn quickly took control in the second however, building a 12-point lead by the time there were six minutes left.

Walker Kessler led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points on an efficient 8-for-10 shooting. He also had seven rebounds. Star freshman forward Jabari Smith added 14 points (5-10 FG) and seven boards. With the victory, Auburn is two games ahead of Kentucky and the only undefeated team in SEC play.

The Tigers will hope to keep their winning streak going when they face Missouri at 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday on the road. Auburn then returns home for a nonconference game against Oklahoma. Bruce Pearl will hope the Auburn student section can continue to make an impact on the game like we saw Saturday against Kentucky.