Steven Pearl and the Auburn Tigers needed a win over Kentucky in the worst way, and they got it done.
Before the Auburn Tigers took on the Kentucky Wildcats at home inside Neville Arena on Saturday night, things were looking increasingly bleak for Steven Pearl's group.
Auburn had come out on the losing side of five contests in a row, and their NCAA Tournament stock was decreasing more and more with each tally added to the loss column.
Criticism of Pearl was reaching higher and higher levels with each passing game, and it is understandable to see why. The product on the floor was no where close to what fans of the program had come to expect in recent years.
The team new what they had to do, however, and that was come out victorious against the Wildcats and reinvigorate the team and fanbase alike.
With less than a minute left in Saturday night's contest, it looked like things were set to go from bad to worse as a dagger slam dunk off a fast break from Kentucky's Otega Oweh appeared to put the Wildcats over the top.
Auburn perservered, however, and came together as a unit to find a way to right the ship.
The adversity was overcome, and members of the team stepped up when it mattered the most. It seems as though that is what Tiger fans have been waiting for throughout the skid.
With a win over Kentucky in their back pocket and added to their tournament resume, Auburn has a chance to build ever more momentum by handling business against a struggling Oklahoma Sooners squad on the road on Tuesday night.
After that, the Tigers have another winnable contest against Ole Miss, followed by one against LSU. If Auburn closes out what should be three additional wins, the narrative of the season will have ompletely been flipped on its head, and the Tigers could have some added confidence heading into SEC and NCAA Tournament play.