Steven Pearl Aims for Statement Win Early on as Auburn Head Coach

An upcoming neutral-site bout with a top team gives the Auburn Tigers' head coach a chance to pick up a big win in just his fourth game

Auburn Tigers head coach Steven Pearl can get a statement win in just his fourth game at the helm | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.- The  22nd-ranked Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team is set to take on the top-ranked team in the country, the Houston Cougars. Both schools participated in last year’s Final Four, and both came up short of a national championship. 

Last season, Auburn faced the Cougars on the road in Houston. Although it was a neutral-site game, the matchup took place only a few miles from the Cougars’ campus. This time, the matchup will be in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham is located about two hours from Auburn, but many Auburn fans will take the drive to the sold-out Legacy Arena at the BJCC.

Auburn head coach Steven Pearl gave a small preview of the upcoming matchup against the Cougars, and he is optimistic that his guys can go toe to toe with the top-ranked team in the nation, as he has a few players on the team who faced the Cougars last season and know the intensity that Houston plays with. 

“No one can simulate what Houston does at that level,” Pearl said about how the Tigers have been preparing for the matchup. 

“Even if we went best on best, we can’t even simulate it, because what they do is so unique, and they play with a different level of fire and a different level of energy in passion. But the good news is that we have three guys that played against them last year that can speak to it. Tahaad (Pettiford) played against them, KO (Kevin Overton) played against them, and Keyshawn Hall played against them. 

So those three guys can tell all of our guys that it's going to be for 40 minutes. It's not one possession, it's not five possessions, it's not 10 possessions. If it is a 65-possession game, it is every single possession; that is how they play.” 

Houston sits at 3-0 on the year, with wins against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Towson Tigers, and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. In all of those matchups, the highest amount of points given up by the Cougars was 57. 

Pearl is only in his fourth game as head coach of Auburn, and is already going against the top-ranked team in the country. Auburn will have its hands full with the Cougars this weekend and will have the opportunity to pull off an upset against one of the best teams in the country.