Could Auburn’s rotation expand in SEC play? Bruce Pearl isn’t ruling it out

Bruce Pearl admitted that two of his three preseason expectations about Southeastern Conference play were wrong.

“It’s not about just being humble, hungry and healthy. I was wrong about that. There’s going to be so much losing that there will be enough humility. No one’s gonna have to worry about being humble,” Pearl said on Friday ahead of Auburn’s SEC opener against Missouri. “And I think hunger is not gonna be a factor, either. So, I was wrong two out of the three, because I think everybody’s gonna be hungry.”

The one factor he remains confident in is the importance of staying healthy, something Pearl says might be harder than ever in the SEC this season.

“The league is so physical, so athletic that there are going to be more injuries than we had in the non-conference,” Pearl said. “That’s something I’m predicting. I don’t want it. It’s just that the reality is that benches are gonna become even more valuable.”

Auburn has always been known for playing a deep bench. Pearl even said before the season that he once again planned for the Tigers to play ten players double-digit minutes.

While ten players do currently average double-digit minutes, the rotation has more consistently featured nine players throughout the season, with players such as Jahki Howard, JP Pegues and Ja’Heim Hudson still seeming to be on the fringes of the rotation and not consistently getting significant minutes.

Pegues began the season as a starter, but his role has continually shrunk over the course of the season to where he’s only averaged 4.4 minutes over the last five games.

Howard and Hudson were also part of the rotation at the beginning of the season, but lost significant progress after being forced to miss time following an in-flight altercation on the team’s trip to Houston.

Howard has returned to a key role in the rotation, averaging 16.8 minutes over the last five games. However, Pearl hasn’t closed the door on him or any of Auburn’s less-frequent contributors earning more minutes.

“I try very much to be consistent with our minutes and reward the guys, and I don’t have knee-jerk reactions to starters or to too many trends,” Pearl said. “There is opportunity for the guys on the bench to be able to play and contribute more.”

Pearl noted that most of Auburn’s bench players are in their first season with the program, explaining in part why it could take them longer to earn bigger roles in the rotation.

“The room for improvement on our team has a lot to do with our bench,” Pearl said. “I think those guys have a chance to get better and help us more and more.”

Auburn’s SEC opener against Missouri is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. on Saturday. It will be streaming live on SEC Network.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com