"Size matters": Bruce Pearl credits team's guards and bigs for leading Auburn to SEC opener triumph against Missouri 

Bruce Pearl was delighted with Auburn's excellent start in their SEC opener against Missouri on Jan. 4. The Tigers secured a convincing 84-68 victory to begin conference play on a winning note, with Pearl's side putting in a dominant all-round display on both ends of the court.

During the postgame press conference, Pearl praised his team for their impressive effort on defense, which included completely shutting down Missouri's sophomore guard, Anthony Robinson II.

"Size matters. Size matters in jewelry and it matters in basketball," Pearl said. "Our guys, Chaney, Dylan, Johni and look, Chad Baker. His length, the length of our guards. So they did a great job on Mitchell. I think the other guy to point out is [Anthony] Robinson. Robinson’s been tearing it up, and he didn’t get a bucket tonight. He’s one of their better players."

(from 3:17 mark onwards)

Although Auburn finished with two fewer rebounds than Missouri's 31, they won 23 defensive rebounds to the latter's 18. In addition, senior forward Johni Broome and redshirt freshman Dylan Cardwell tallied seven blocks amongst them, no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination.

Pearl went on to praise Auburn's efforts in offense, singling out the contributions of some of his stars including Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara.

"Denver Jones does not get nearly enough credit, is not talked about. He’s as good a defensive guard as their is in the country," Pearl said. "He and Chad [Baker-Mazara] kind of lead us. Miles [Kelly] and Tahaad [Pettiford] and Jahki [Howard] and Chris [Moore] are coming into their all because we’ve got two of our best players in Denver and Chad are elite defenders."

(from 3:48 mark onwards)

Bruce Pearl scripts Auburn history with win over Missouri

Auburn's win over Missouri on Jan. 4 was Bruce Pearl's 213th as head coach of the Tigers. He tied Joel Eaves, who served as Auburn's head coach from 1949 to 1963, for the most wins in program history.

Broome was arguably the star of the show for Auburn yet again in their conference opener. He finished as the team's top-scorer with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds, four blocks and two assists. Meanwhile, Jones sizzled in Auburn's backcourt, scoring 10 points and dishing out seven assists in his 28-minute performance.

No. 2 Auburn's first win in SEC play improved their overall record to 13-1, and are among the favorites to make the postseason for the fourth season in a row in the Bruce Pearl era.