Arkansas in Bud Walton and then Texas A&M? Don't scoff at Auburn basketball's resume
AUBURN — Auburn basketball isn't supposed to win in Bud Walton Arena. That's what history says. The Tigers definitely aren't supposed to hand Arkansas a 32-point loss, the biggest home shellacking the Razorbacks have ever suffered in the Basketball Palace of Mid-America, which has stood for more than three decades.
The Tigers aren't really supposed to top Texas A&M, either. Not when the Aggies are led by coach Buzz Williams, who came into Tuesday evening with a 6-1 record against coach Bruce Pearl. Texas A&M has owned Auburn as of late, knocking the Tigers out of the SEC Tournament in 2022 and snapping their 28-game home winning streak in 2023.
But this Auburn team clearly doesn't care about history. The Tigers demolished Arkansas to open SEC play Saturday and followed that up by closing a tight game against the Aggies on Tuesday. Auburn is now up to eight consecutive wins, and the margin of victory in those contests has been more than 23 points.
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The Tigers have too many new faces to care about the past. Between three transfers − Chad Baker-Mazara, Chaney Johnson and Denver Jones − and a five-star freshman in Aden Holloway, Auburn looks like a different team than it was last season.
But just how good are the Tigers?
"It's way too early to tell," Pearl said when asked if this was one of the best teams he's ever had at Auburn. "This has been one of the hardest-working teams that I've had. This team has improved more from the summer to the point we are right now more than probably any team I've had at Auburn."
That makes sense. The Tigers opened the season with a disappointing loss to Baylor on Nov. 7, failing to close in the game's waning moments. That wasn't the case Tuesday, as Auburn was able to finish effectively against the Aggies, holding Texas A&M without a made field goal for the final 9:15.
The only other loss the Tigers have suffered was a true road test at Appalachian State. They missed 24 of the 27 shots they took from 3-point range and were unable to overcome the shooting woes. Pearl's squad didn't have much success from beyond the arc versus Texas A&M − five makes on 22 attempts − but it figured out a way to dispatch the Aggies.
Auburn couldn't figure out how to win close games last season. The Tigers went 2-7 in their final nine contests decided by less than 10 points, consistently coming up short in crunch time.
It's to be determined how Auburn will fare the rest of the way. Maybe the 2-0 start to conference play is a fluke, though it doesn't feel like it. The wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M make it feel special.
It feels like this is one of Pearl's best teams, even if he isn't ready to say it.
"We've put ourselves in position," Pearl said. "We've got work to do."
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball is doing what its previous iterations couldn't
