What did Bruce Pearl have to say ahead of the South Carolina game?

What did Auburn's head coach have to say ahead of the matchup with the Gamecocks?

The No. 13 Auburn Tigers host the South Carolina Gamecocks tomorrow at Neville Arena.

What did Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl have to say ahead of the game?

"We've played South Carolina I guess 50 times in the history of the series here, and it's the first time that both teams have been ranked."

Pearl talked about what South Carolina being at the top of the conference means for the SEC.

"It speaks to the commitment that the SEC has in all sports, but men's basketball being absolutely no different," Pearl said. "The South Carolina women are No. 1 in the country, they fill that building all the time. The South Carolina men have started to draw like just like everyone else in our league."

South Carolina plays at a slower pace and likes to limit possessions. Pearl talked about how Auburn will handle that. 

"We'll try to speed them up when possible," Pearl said. "You just got to understand what they like to do offensively, what's the best way to take away those things defensively and try to lock into a gameplan. We don't play defensively the same way every night. We play hard every night."

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.