Growing pains weren’t something Auburn basketball fans had to go through during the latter years of the Bruce Pearl era, especially last season when the Tigers ran through a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule almost unscathed, with the only loss coming to Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This year is different, with Steven Pearl taking over and an almost brand-new team taking the floor for Auburn. After Saturday’s blowout loss to Purdue in Indianapolis, the Tigers sit at 8-4 going into the Christmas break. To put it in perspective, Auburn’s fourth loss didn’t come until the final game of the regular season last season.