Auburn can clinch second in West

AUBURN — Lucas Hargrove earned his seat at Saturday’s post-game press conference because he gave the effort expected from a starter as a bench player.

If it were up to Hargrove, he would have preferred to get there the conventional way. But as long as Auburn continues to play unconventionally well for this time of year, Hargrove is just fine with not having his name announced before the game.

“I want to start, sure, but that’s why we’re winning right now is because everybody knows their role,” said Hargrove, who began the year as a starter. “A couple people might want more minutes, but everybody is playing their role. By us playing our role, it has helped us tremendously.”

Auburn (19-10, 8-6 SEC) has eight players that could start the game, coach Jeff Lebo said. So, according to Lebo, it doesn’t really matter who will be in the starting lineup tonight at Alabama, even though it’s remained the same throughout the Tigers’ hot streak.

Tip off for tonight’s nationally televised Iron Bowl of basketball is set for 8 p.m. The crowd promises to be large, as Alabama will be presented with the ODK Trophy for its 36-0 Iron Bowl victory in November.

“It’s always wild,” Lebo said.

“This game’s always wild.”

An Auburn win clinches sole possession of second place in the SEC West and a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. Alabama, which sits two games back of Auburn with two games to play, needs to win out and have both Auburn and Mississippi State (7-6) lose out to earn the bye.

“I think the extra day would be very helpful to us,” Lebo said. “Especially the way we’ve had this schedule coming down the stretch.”

Since their ugly loss at Ole Miss in early February, the Tigers have won six of their last seven and Lebo has stuck with the same starting five throughout: Korvotney Barber, Rasheem Barrett, DeWayne Reed, Tay Waller and Quantez Robertson.

With Johnnie Lett out for the unforeseen future with a badly sprained ankle, Lebo has had just three players to rotate in from the bench in Hargrove, Frankie Sullivan and Brendon Knox.

But he’s made it mesh, and sold it to those, such as Hargrove, who may not have been exactly keen with coming off the bench at first.

“Your role on the team is whatever the coach asks you to do,” Hargrove said. “If you’re a big man, we need you to rebound and maybe get some put-back buckets. If you’re a guard, you know, play tough defense on the perimeter.”

Hargrove’s athleticism and energy, along with the emergence of both Sullivan and Knox as reliable options, have provided Lebo with one of the deepest benches in the conference at the most important time of the year.

In the Tigers’ last six wins, their bench has outscored the opposition 115-47.

“I’m not really big on who starts,” Lebo said. “There’s a perception out there that you start the best, but it’s not a big deal for me.”

The effects of Auburn’s strong bench will be felt in the long-term also, Lebo said. Players such as Barber, who arguably takes a bigger beating than anyone in the conference, aren’t as effective if they are forced to play 35-plus minutes per game.

Saturday’s win was just the fourth time in conference play that Barber played less than 30 minutes. In fact, Saturday’s game marked the first time during conference play — second this season — that none of Auburn’s starters logged more than 30 minutes.

“That’s been key for us,” Lebo said. “But when you start the game … I don’t think it really matters for the kids.”
Hargrove might beg to differ, but he prefers to look at it from a different perspective.

“Starting is not as big for me as finishing the game,” Hargrove said. “I like being in at the end and most games I am.”