What Bruce Pearl said ahead of Auburn's huge game against No. 3 Alabama inside Neville Arena

The biggest game of the season so far for Auburn has arrived. Sitting at 17-7 overall and 7-4 in league play, Bruce Pearl and the Tigers welcome in No. 3 Alabama on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN with College GameDay in attendance. Alabama might be the best team in the country. Assistant coach Steven Pearl thinks so. The Tide sits at No. 2 in both the KenPom and NET ratings. And what's really scary about Alabama is as good as their offense is, their defense is ranked higher. Alabama's adjusted offensive efficiency is No. 19 per KenPom, while their adjusted defensive efficiency sits at No. 5. It's a monster task, but despite Auburn's four losses in five games, the Tigers aren't playing bad basketball. Three of those four losses are a pair of three-point losses on the road to West Virginia and Tennessee, and a five-point loss at Texas A&M. In fact, four of Auburn's five Quad I losses are by a total of 14 points. As always, here's what Bruce Pearl said on Thursday as the Tigers prepare for the Tide: