Challenging Week For Resurging Tigers

   

This is another pivotal week for the Auburn basketball team as they travel to Arkansas Wednesday and Tennessee Saturday. Both the Razorbacks and Volunteers are playing well and will be a handful for the Tigers, who are not playing too shabby themselves, coming off their best overall performance of the year this weekend versus South Carolina. 

The basketball culture is slowly changing at Auburn .

Arkansas has won 11 in a row at Bud Walton Arena, a tough place to play, including a 66-64 out-of-conference win this past weekend over #19 Michigan. Tennessee had a big out-of-conference-win this weekend too, knocking off defending national champion and #11 UConn. Last week, I said that LSU was the biggest surprise in the league. I must retract that and give that nod to the Vols, who despite one league victory, have been impressive all season with tenacious defense and a blue-collar work ethic.

After embarrassing road losses to Florida State and Vanderbilt, this young Auburn team has begun to showcase the gritty attitude Coach Tony Barbee has called for since his arrival on the Plains. This will need to continue in Fayetteville and Knoxville this week.

The Tigers have 11 regular season games left, five at home and six on the road. Speculation has begun to swirl around post season possibilities for the Tigers. Logic says that a 7-9 or 8-8 league record gets an NIT bid for this resurging program. That certainly looks possible, especially since the Tigers are 11-1 in the Auburn Arena thus far this season. One thing is for certain, the Tigers are a much better team than the one I witnessed in Tallahassee earlier this month.

Following Saturday’s home win over South Carolina, Barbee said “The fans get the sixth man award.” There is no doubt that the atmosphere and culture is changing in the Auburn Arena. With Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and LSU all looming at home, I urge you to spread the word, bring people who normally do not come, and let’s give these opponents fits as fans, just as our young team will. War Eagle!