Auburn basketball 'calling card' has changed, and Bruce Pearl saw it vs Mississippi State
Lior Berman dribbled into the lane and pulled up for a floater, getting it to go through contact. He converted the ensuing free throw to give Auburn basketball a 15-point lead midway through the second half of a 67-49 win over LSU on Wednesday.
The senior wing tied his career-high with eight points on 75% shooting from the field, including a make from 3-point range in the first half. He also tacked on an offensive rebound in his 16 minutes of work.
It's the second consecutive contest Berman made meaningful contributions to a win, as coach Bruce Pearl was forced to play him down the stretch of Auburn's victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. Junior forward Chris Moore was out with a shoulder injury and senior Jaylin Williams had fouled out. In came Berman with 2:34 left to play and Auburn's five-point lead dwindling. The Tigers hung on to win by six.
Berman played 12 minutes against the Bulldogs and his 16 against LSU was a season-high.
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"How about Lior Berman being able to come off the bench and ball and just act like he belongs out there?" Pearl asked after the LSU game. "He makes us a better team."
Berman won't be having a 20-point performance anytime soon, at least he's not expected to. And when Moore returns from injury, his minutes will likely be slashed. But this two-game run he's been on is the perfect example of what has made Auburn (15-3, 5-1 SEC) so successful this season: It's depth.
The Tigers don't have someone like Jabari Smith Jr. from last year or another superstar to carry them. Junior guard Wendell Green Jr. has established himself as the go-to scorer this season with Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams complementing him, but rarely do all parts of this trio have it going in the same game.
Sometimes it's Allen Flanigan; he showed he's capable of doing that by dropping 18 points against Arkansas on Jan. 7. Other times it may be Moore, or even KD Johnson. The bottom line is even though the brand of basketball being played may not be the prettiest, or the most efficient, it's working. And it's working because of Auburn's depth.
"That balance is what our calling card is," Pearl said. "Again, we've got some guys that can win their position in this league. ... Wendell won his position. Jaylin won his position. Al and Lior combined probably won their position. And that was very, very significant. (LSU guard Trae) Hannibal had a big game and KJ Williams had a big game, but otherwise, we won our positions and I think that balance is a good thing moving forward."
Pearl has obviously had some pretty successful seasons at Auburn − the Final Four run in 2019 and last year's team that was ranked No. 1 come to mind — but having this year's squad in the position it's in at this point in the season is right up there with any of his other accomplishments on the Plains.
And to keep the good times going, he's going to need his collection of talent to continue to be greater than the sum of its parts. And from what the Tigers have shown, there's no reason to believe that'll stop anytime soon, especially with Pearl in their ear.
"Coach Pearl talks about (how) we've got to be the most physical team," Berman said previewing LSU on Tuesday. "... So, when the ball goes up I'm finding a person who I can check out really hard and get the rebound. Late in the game, you really have to not make a mental mistake or miss a checkout.
"I just take that to heart."
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: Bruce Pearl: Auburn basketball coach on key to Tigers' success
