Pregame look at the Auburn Tigers

By: LARRY VAUGHT


Auburn assistant Chuck Person

For Auburn to play well, 6-7 center Cinmeon Bowers has to play well and do the things that coach Bruce Pearl wants — something the coach didn’t feel he did in Tuesday’s 79-68 loss to visiting Alabama.

Bowers finished with 14 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-14 shooting, but also had four turnovers.

“We rely heavily on Cinmeon Bowers, and when Cim doesn’t play as well as he’s capable of, it’s hard for us to win,” Pearl said after the game. “Unfortunately, some of his mistakes were really magnified.”

Bowers averages 13 points and a team-best 10.6 rebounds per game and likely will need to have one of his best games for Auburn (12-14, 4-9 Southeastern Conference) to be competitive with Kentucky in Rupp Arena Saturday night.

“He is one of the nation’s best rebounders,” Pearl said. “He is undersized in there as far as length, but he is powerful in the air. When he gets in the air, he can still move you. He plays hard. He has a nose for the ball. He just has a feel for it.

“He has always been undersized and always has played close to the basket. He’s unselfish and a good passer. He can bring the ball up the floor for us. He is improving defensively. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be for us without him.”

Pearl guided Tennessee to six straight NCAA tourney bids before losing his job because of NCAA infractions. He’s taken 18 teams in 19 years to postseason play during his coaching career and has the Tigers playing better than expected this year.

“Auburn came in and did fantatsic job handling the pace of game, controlling tempo and making shots,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones after his team lost to Auburn. “They shot a very high percentage. They got to the rim and made timely plays down the stretch. It wasn’t indicative of a team that had several losses and had a chance to fold. They stepped up and made big plays.”

South Carolina coach Frank Martin says Pearl has “energized” Auburn and Florida coach Billy Donovan says he’s happy to have Pearl back in the league.

“He felt good about Auburn and what he could bring. I have always admired the way his teams play. They play hard and with great passion,” Donovan said. “He has great enthusiasm. He is always going to have his guys well prepared. As he continues to recruit, they will get better and better. Him being back in the SEC only helps the league.”

However, Auburn is coming off the disappointing loss to Alabama, its second loss this season to Alabama.

Alabama dominated the paint, outrebounding the undersized Tigers 40-26 overall and 31-20 on the defensive end.

Antonie Mason had a season-high 24 points against Alabama and KT Harell, the team’s top scorer at 18 points per game, added 18. However, Mason, Harrell and Bowers combined for all but nine of Auburn’s points as the other Tigers were a combined 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) from the field. Auburn’s point guards — seniors KC Ross-Miller and Malcolm Canada — combined to shoot 0-for-13.

Pearl is now in danger of having his first losing season as a head coach in 20 seasons. Only nine other major college coaches have coached at least 10 seasons at that level without posting a losing record. This is Pearl's 11th Division I season, including stints at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Tennessee.

"I am not worried about my record. I am worried about Auburn's record, and I am worried about trying to get the most out of them,” Pearl said earlier this month.