Latest / The Auburn Undercover Podcast / Postgame Pod: Auburn defeats Queens 106-65

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Postgame Pod: Auburn defeats Queens 106-65 · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

• 0:00
  [Music]
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  Welcome into the postgame podcast.
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  Falcons 27, Rams 24. Bejon best running
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  back in the NFL. Falcons 3 and 0 now
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  that they've been eliminated from the
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  playoffs. But I'm actually here with the
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  King.
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  >> It's a good time to do it, right? It's a
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  good time to start winning.
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  >> Yeah. Now that So we can't have a good
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  draft pick. Um but I'm here with the
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  King to talk about the Queens. They were
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  pretty bad.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> They're not good at defense. Um, we saw
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  that this game was over very quickly for
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  a game that started at 9:00 p.m.
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  >> Yes. 106-65.
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  Auburn basketball takes its
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  non-conference finale. Uh, we we were we
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  were the king and queens. Okay, that
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  works pretty well. Uh, we we were, you
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  know, Jeff Sheer, the great Jeff Sheer
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  is the is the king of puns, so we asked
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  him if he would weave some queen
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  references, as in the band, into his
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  game story. So, we'll see if that
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  happened in this one. Yeah. I mean,
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  really no uh no match, you know, no no
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  competition really for Auburn tonight.
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  We knew that was going to be the case,
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  as you mentioned, particularly on
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  defense. Uh 348 in Ken Palm, I think, is
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  is what Queens entered this game in um
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  defensively, but they're a top 100 team
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  nationally in offense. And so that side
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  of things, as Steven Pearl talked about
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  in his postgame, was much more
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  impressive. Um it was a 30-4 start.
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  That's kind of the number I like look
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  at. That's the one where when it pops up
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  on your score bug on the bottom, you're
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  like, whoa, 30 to4. Um, Auburn led by 38
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  in the first half, but that was really
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  the, you know, they came out, um, Queens
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  only had one field goal for a really
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  long time and they started one of eight
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  in the game. By the time they had seven
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  turnovers, um, they also had seven
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  missed shots. And so Auburn dominated
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  the, uh, the first half of this one. Not
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  as crisp of a second half for them
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  defensively, um, but still on the other
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  end, anytime you get to 106 points, um,
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  always a good thing. And then uh a
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  couple guys who Patrick we've sort of
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  learned that Kevin Overton and Elijah
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  Freeman when they play well those thing
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  that usually bodess well for Auburn. I
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  don't think we went into this season
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  thinking Kevin Overton was going to be
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  that much of a scorer. Like it was kind
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  of that veteran defensive presence as a
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  guard is what we kind of knew him as. Um
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  but Stephen Pearl talked about it
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  afterwards. You look this is the third
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  time in the last five games he's gone
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  over 20 points. Steven said it like he
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  he could be Auburn's third score. like
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  he could be that next guy after Keshan
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  Hall and and Tahad Pedford and uh and
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  then Elijah Freeman now this is the
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  third game for him coming off the bench.
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  We saw him do that against Chattanooga.
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  Um looked really comfortable in that
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  game and uh boy 50 combined points for
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  those guys gave gave Auburn quite a
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  spark tonight.
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  >> Yeah, I mean it was a it was a fast jump
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  and I think Kevin Overton it was the
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  first time in his career he's had
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  back-to-back 20 point games as well. But
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  yeah, I the fast start which is
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  important against a team like this.
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  Pearl referenced the crowd and it being
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  relatively packed for a 9 pm game in the
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  week between Christmas and New Year's.
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  Um, and they basically did what they
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  needed to do. Of course, for Queens, for
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  a team that makes I think it was 10.8
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  threes a game and that average that's in
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  the top 25 nationally and to not get
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  your first three-pointer until the 7:30
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  mark of the second half, like you're
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  just you're not going to win a
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  basketball game no matter who you are if
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  that's what's happening. And so Auburn
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  takes care of business.
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  >> I think you said it best in your story
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  of obviously they struggled against the
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  premier programs they played. Not I
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  don't know, you might want to keep
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  talking about this game, but to shift to
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  bigger things.
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  >> Sure.
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  >> They lost to all of those top 10 teams
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  by big margins in a lot of them, but
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  they didn't have a bad loss. And I think
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  that's what tonight was is you take care
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  of business. You know, you get running
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  again. You know, you had a big break
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  after Christmas. there's a longer break
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  before Georgia, but we all know what's
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  coming.
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  >> Yeah, for sure. I mean, this this was an
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  important break for this team um to get
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  healthy in a uh in a number of areas. Of
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  course, Todd Pedford, he turned his
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  ankle against uh against Purdue. Ended
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  up not really being anything. Um kind of
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  had done that apparently throughout his
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  career as Steve Pearl said going back to
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  high school. That's something that's
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  kind of bothered him. Uh I think Keshan
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  Murphy was the one where it's like we
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  just kept waiting for him to almost like
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  Jai Broom last year when he had a couple
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  injuries that just couldn't get out of
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  the way. Uh Murphy hasn't been
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  unavailable. He hasn't necessarily been
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  actively injured, but it's just been
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  that lingering knee, that lingering hip,
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  and he talked about it in the in the
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  postgame press conference, which if
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  you're watching this on YouTube, you can
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  go watch those interviews um as well.
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  Just kind of getting home, getting back
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  in Birmingham, you know, able to to rest
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  a little bit. And you saw a team that
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  came out tonight, Steen Pearl was not
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  worried about it, but wondering if the
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  team would have that response after a
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  long break.
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  >> We mentioned a 30 to4 start to the game.
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  Um the crowd you mentioned as well,
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  >> you know, not an insignificant factor to
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  discuss in this game because Patrick is
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  a late late tip off nine o'clock local
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  time. Um you know, for anyone, you know,
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  if if you're on Eastern time, you know,
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  starting at 10:00 p.m. and we're on
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  break, it's December 29th. All you know,
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  lots of lots of uh lots of kids here at
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  the university are gone. Um but, you
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  know, everyone's standing up for the
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  anthem. And I was looking around. I was
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  like, this it filled out really well.
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  And Stephen Pearl said to his team
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  before the game, you know, look around
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  and and and kind of soak that in and
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  enjoy it. Um and so Auburn thought they
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  would have to make their own energy.
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  That's what Keshan Murphy said, but they
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  didn't really have to in this game.
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  Yeah. A couple more nuggets here. Um a
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  season high, excuse me, 15
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  three-pointers for Auburn in this game.
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  A careerhigh nine assists for Todd
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  Pedford. His Neville Arena shooting
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  struggles continue. He just can't shoot
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  the ball in this building this season,
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  but he can pass the ball really, really
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  well, and they apparently challenged him
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  to that this week. So now Patrick, this
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  is the finale of non-conference play.
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  Nine and four, Auburn heads into SEC
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  competition. And as you mentioned, if
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  you had told people before the season,
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  hey, you're going to exit non-conference
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  play and your only losses are going to
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  be to those teams are all in the top 10
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  right now,
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  >> by the way, and the three bad ones are
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  all to top five teams.
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  >> You would take that. What you mentioned
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  is is the is the crux of it. How can
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  they avoid because you're going to have
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  road games against Tennessee. You're
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  going to have road games against
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  Florida. Those teams are very, very
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  capable of letting a game get away from
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  you. How do you avoid that moving
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  forward? And shoot, Georgia looks much
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  improved. This is, I believe, 12- one is
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  the is the record. They they exit
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  non-conference play with not a very
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  difficult schedule at all. Only one quad
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  one game for them and they lost to uh to
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  Clemson,
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  >> but uh yeah, Patrick, it's it's about to
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  get real for for this team heading into
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  SEC play. The league is not as good as
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  it was last year. So, maybe that means
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  you actually have to be a little bit
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  better than maybe we thought. Can you be
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  a 500 SEC team and make the tournament?
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  I'm not sure. I'm not sure if you can
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  this season. It's not a super strong
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  league like it was last year and it uh
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  it starts on Saturday in Athens.
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  >> Yeah. And I I think
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  >> it's not granted for SEC standards and
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  what Auburn's done in non-conference.
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  It's not as hard of a start. I mean,
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  you're not starting like with Tennessee
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  or something, but like it's fairly mild.
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  >> Going to Athens, they're ranked. They're
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  excited. They're on a 10-ame win streak.
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  Um it's their best this their third best
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  start in program history. I was reading
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  some things today and I'll pull the stat
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  at some point between now and then, but
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  Auburn's won a lot up there recently.
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  Auburn's won against them a lot
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  recently. So, you know, they're going to
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  be hungry. It's a rivalry game. Auburn's
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  obviously been very relevant in
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  basketball recently and this would be a
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  marquee win for them. But I feel like a
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  lot of these first few SEC games, you
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  know, for Auburn, they've been so
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  tested. I feel like we know so much
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  because of the caliber opponent. Whereas
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  with someone like Georgia, we just like
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  they could be really good. they could be
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  number 20 like that could be fair or it
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  could just be based off who they've
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  played and how we've gotten here and so
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  it's really going to be interesting to
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  see how that shapes up but
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  >> yeah I I think the biggest thing is and
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  Steven said that as well and I feel like
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  DHD mostly always gets up for the big
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  games but it's like if you could pair
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  the assist with making some more of the
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  shots because Stephen said he liked a
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  lot of the shots they took and then
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  again if Kevin and Elijah can keep it
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  going you feel like you have a really
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  good start to start strong with the game
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  in Athens and then&m and Arkansas coming
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  here.
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  >> I mean, Georgia may be I was looking
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  kind of at that first stretch if you
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  separate the SEC schedule into thirds
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  being an 18game schedule.
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  >> Those first six games is the toughest
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  game of all of those in Athens on
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  Saturday. It might be. Um, now the best
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  team of that stretch, Arkansas comes
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  here. I I think is kind of what we look
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  at right now analytically and just the
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  potential of that team. Arkansas comes
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  here, but you get that game at home.
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  Your home openers against Texas A&M,
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  they've had a lot of struggles in
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  non-conference play. Your other two road
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  games in that first stretch, Missouri
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  and Old Miss, they've they've had a lot
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  of struggles in non-conference play. I'm
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  blanking on the other team that has to
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  come here to uh to Neville Arena. And
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  then after that, you go to Florida and
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  Tennessee back-to-back Saturdays. And so
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  that it starts to really ramp up.
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  Obviously, you start to mix the Alabama
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  game in there, the Alabama games in
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  there. You start to mix Kentucky in
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  there as well. But yeah, it's it's sort
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  of a mild start for this team. I I I
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  remember back when the schedule was
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  released, I really like the way it paces
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  out. Um, but you know, if they if they
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  go to Georgia and like you said,
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  Georgia's a good team. Now, are they
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  really good or have they just beaten the
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  teams? We're going to find that out.
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  Good Auburn teams have been tested
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  there. Good Auburn teams have lost
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  there. Uh, Janibum second season, I
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  remember they they opened SC play there
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  and they lost. They lost like 10
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  >> in that game. Um, I remember the the the
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  Jabari Smith team was up by a bunch. Had
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  to had to win it at the end. The final
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  four team had to win it at the end. They
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  had to grind one out last year when Jana
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  Broom was injured. So, it's not easy to
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  go play there in Athens. But, we it's
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  just it's such an interesting spot,
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  Patrick, because we think you you should
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  know so much about a team after
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  non-conference play, and we really we
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  do, but at the same time, some of these
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  games have just gotten away so quickly.
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  It's like, are they going to have
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  opportunities away from home against
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  strong opponents to make those games
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  competitive? Like, it's just it's it's
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  an interesting place this team's in
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  right now. And I think that's the thing
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  is like yes, there are things you need
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  to do better at so that when you go to
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  Tennessee or when you go to Florida or
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  Alabama, it's not a 20 point game at the
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  half. But at the same time,
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  >> like the gaming out of like where can
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  you pick off the wins like going to
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  Oklahoma or going to Missouri or even
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  Georgia just to start SEC play because
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  they haven't seen the opponents you have
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  and they aren't as battle tested. Those
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  are the ones where I'm like, those are
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  the ones you can pick off and then you
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  can take care of business at home in a
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  lot of these other games and you can
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  start to build a pretty good resume. But
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  of course, if you want to take that jump
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  and be more competitive in Knoxville or
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  Gainesville, that's kind of where
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  everything would have to come together.
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  One question I have for you, it's the
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  holiday season. New Year's resolution.
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  If you had to give this team a New
• 10:31
  Year's resolution going into SEC play of
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  like this would be a great thing to work
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  on, what would it be? I'm putting you on
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  the spot. I did not I I mean, I guess
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  I'll just because I don't have one off
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  the top of the the dome, I guess I'll
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  just defer to the point Steven Pearl
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  always makes, and that is to focus on
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  defense
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  >> first and foremost. Um, I think this
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  team has a lot of tools
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  to be very competent defensively, but
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  right now, I can't remember the number
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  he said. Did he say top 60 defensively?
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  I think that was kind of the range that
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  Steam Pearl threw out. Maybe top 50. He
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  was like, "Look, we know we're going to
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  score some points." I think Ken Palm,
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  they're like a top 15 offense right now,
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  but they need to be in that higher range
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  defensively. And so I think just getting
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  that buy in and getting more consistency
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  from top to bottom would be my
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  resolution um for this Auburn team
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  because the offense is going to come and
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  and even in that Purdue game, they score
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  only 60 points, but Steven Pearl comes
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  back to us next week, the the week that
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  followed, and he was like, "Guys, we got
• 11:26
  a bunch of good shots like missed I
• 11:27
  think he said they missed 12 layups and
• 11:29
  they missed nine open threes." And it's
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  like, you get half of those, you're
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  talking about an 80-point game. So, I
• 11:33
  think there's really not much concern
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  about that side of the ball. Um, it's
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  it's more on defense. I think just sort
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  of a top down if they can go from being
• 11:41
  a C++ defensive team to a B defensive
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  team, I think that's a really big deal
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  for them in in SEC play. Um, well,
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  Patrick, it's it's going to be like we
• 11:50
  talked about, it's going to be a really
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  really intriguing SEC slate. Um, the
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  first SEC
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  >> schedule of the of the Steven Pearl era,
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  I guess, and and we'll see what this
• 11:58
  team is. Well, you know, right now I
• 11:59
  think we all kind of perceive them as a
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  lower tier NCAA tournament team. Like we
• 12:04
  still think they're clearly a tournament
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  team. We think they're middle of the
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  pack in the SEC, but those things start
• 12:09
  to sway. We start to learn a lot more
• 12:10
  when we get into conference competition.
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  And so, uh, we'll both be there in
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  Athens on on Saturday for what should be
• 12:15
  a a great game. Rules reversed a little
• 12:17
  bit now because Georgia is actually a
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  ranked team. Auburn's just right outside
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  and that doesn't really matter, but uh,
• 12:22
  it would technically I'm sure they'll be
• 12:23
  favored to technically be an upset if
• 12:24
  Auburn were to win in Athens. So, you're
• 12:26
  not used to necessarily seeing that. So,
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  uh, for Patrick Bingham, I'm Nathan
• 12:30
  King. Thank you guys so much for tuning
• 12:31
  in to the, uh, the postgame pod. And,
• 12:34
  um, sorry Patrick, I don't have a on the
• 12:36
  spot question for you, but, uh, happy,
• 12:38
  happy new year to you. Hope you had a
• 12:39
  merry Christmas. Hope all of our
• 12:41
  subscribers had a nice, um, safe and
• 12:43
  enjoyable holiday season. I know that
• 12:45
  >> football has been the source of some
• 12:47
  frustrations of late. If we're recording
• 12:49
  this, well, we're not recording it on
• 12:50
  the day anymore because it's like 1:00.
• 12:52
  Um, but yesterday, Cam Coleman, you
• 12:53
  declared that he'll be entering the the
• 12:55
  transfer portal. Um, and so as me and
• 12:57
  Christian talked about our podcast, just
• 12:58
  kind of preaching patience there. Uh,
• 13:00
  not saying
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  >> I will also be entering the transfer
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  port.
• 13:03
  >> Oh, I'm Well, that really sucks. And now
• 13:04
  we won't have a video guy, but uh, you
• 13:06
  know, if you're looking for a for
• 13:08
  something to to take your mind off it, I
• 13:10
  guess, is the point I'm trying to make.
• 13:11
  Um, the Auburn basketball team is about
• 13:13
  to get set to try to, uh, try to have a
• 13:15
  good SEC season and u become a
• 13:17
  tournament tournament team in year one
• 13:19
  under Steven Pearl. So, we're excited to
• 13:20
  dive into that. So, for Patrick, uh,
• 13:22
  please head over to aubbertcover.com.
• 13:24
  We'll have all this covered for you guys
• 13:27
  and we will talk to you guys soon.
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  [Music]