Auburn PG Denver Jones Injury Update after Texas A&M Loss

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers celebrated a regular season SEC Championship on Saturday after their win at Kentucky. The win was costly though as starting point guard Denver Jones left with an injury after just eight minutes.

Head coach Bruce Pearl said after the game on Saturday that there was no break and was hoping Jones wouldn't miss an extended period of time.

However, two days of rest wasn't enough as Jones missed Auburn's 83-72 loss on the road to the Texas A&M Aggies on Tuesday night. That there was a bit of a letdown after clinching on Saturday wasn't surprising, and neither was not seeing Jones. There was no reason to rush him back with bigger games on the horizon.

That said, Pearl said he wasn't holding Jones back. He was close to returning to action against the Aggies, but ultimately wasn't able to go.

"We really missed his defense and missed his leadership," Pearl said of Jones after the game. "And he couldn't go. We're not saving him. If he could've played, he was gonna play. It was a game-time decision. I was hoping that he could play through the pain, because he doesn't have a bone bruise, and he doesn't have a break.

"It's a soft tissue issue, and it's painful. He just didn't feel like he could push off the floor. So, I hope he gets to feeling better."

Pushing off the floor and his lateral quickness would affect Jones more than a lot of players. His contributions are akin to a cornerback in football. As a defensive stopper, his change of direction is one of his greatest assets.

"I feel like he's the best defensive guard in our league," said Pearl. "If you look last year, A&M had 22 points at halftime at our place; Wade Taylor struggled to score. Denver's the best one-on-one cover guy I got. So obviously missing Denver was a factor."

It wasn't the factor though. Pearl admitted after the game that A&M "physically dominated us." Jones's defense forces more bad shots and increases rebounding opportunities. However, the Tigers were uncharacteristically beaten soundly on the glass.

The Aggies had nearly as many offensive rebounds (24) as the Tigers had total rebounds (25), leading to 29 second-chance points. While Pearl wouldn't use it as an excuse, those are effort stats that showed Auburn lacked its usual intensity.

While on paper Saturday's season finale won't mean much in terms of tournament seeding, the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide shouldn't have the same lack of urgency as seen on Tuesday. Auburn has a chance to get its third win in a row against the Tide for the first time since 2010.

Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Family hope they'll be doing it with a healthy Denver Jones Saturday at 1:30 CT in Auburn.