Think Tay Waller had a surprisingly big day Saturday?

Talk to Georgia, Auburn’s opponent tonight who snapped out of a nine-game funk by sinking an uncharacteristic amount of shots from all angles on its way to an upset victory over Florida.

So did the Bulldogs do something differently than they had throughout their woeful season, or did they just make a bunch of shots?

Auburn’s Jeff Lebo went with the latter.

“That’s the big issue there,” the head coach said with a chuckle. “That’s the big one there.”

Not that Lebo thinks tonight’s 6:30 p.m. game at Stegeman Coliseum is a mere speed bump heading into Saturday’s game at SEC West-leading
LSU. Far from it, as Lebo said the Bulldogs have played well enough to sneak away with a number of victories this season.

They just haven’t because their shots didn’t fall.

“They’re very physical,” Lebo said. “They can rebound the basketball, and that’s given us trouble in the past. That’s something we’ll have to make
an adjustment to.”

The Tigers will also have to adjust to their distinction as a heavy favorite tonight.

Auburn comes in riding a three-game winning streak, its longest in conference play since the 2006-07 season, and a win would put it at 6-5 with five SEC games to play.

It would mark just the third time a Lebo-coached team has been over .500 in conference play and just the first time with more than three games counted.

“We’re going in with some energy, some enthusiasm and I think some momentum,” Lebo said. “So that’s obviously helpful when you step foot on the road. “

Even if the Tigers’ stretch this win streak all the way to the end of the season, a trip to the NCAA tournament is highly unlikely unless they win the SEC Tournament.

A weak non-conference schedule and a considerably down year for the SEC have contributed to the Tigers’ high Ratings Percentage Index of 92.
The worst RPI for an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament was New Mexico’s 74 in 1999.

The 32-team NIT might be an easier get for Auburn, but it’d still have to finish strong. According to Nit-ology.com, a Web site that projects what teams will make the postseason tournament, the Tigers would be on the bubble.

“It will take some toughness,” Lebo said. “It will take some experience and it will take extra effort and execution here coming down the stretch.”

The Tigers only have two home games remaining on their schedule, with two games against 21-4 LSU still to play. Auburn is just 2-4 on the road, with only one coming against an SEC opponent.

So tonight’s game, while against one of the SEC’s worst and by no means a primetime showcase, could determine the course of the rest of the season.

“The rest of the road is just building on the momentum that we’ve already got right now,” forward Korvotney Barber said. “Hopefully we can go to Georgia and keep the momentum going and get the SEC win.”

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Auburn (16-9, 5-5 SEC) vs. Georgia (10-15, 1-9)
Where: Stegeman Coliseum; Athens, Ga.
When: 6:30 p.m
TV/Radio: None/WKKR 97.7 FM
This and that: After losing nine straight games to open up conference play, a stretch that included firing coach Raymond Felton and replacing him with interim coach Pete Herrmann, Georgia upset Florida, 88-86, on Saturday … Auburn has lost three straight and five of its last six to Georgia. Georgia, the Tigers’ most played opponent in their history, leads the all-time series, 87-85 … Four Tigers (Rasheem Barrett, Tay Waller, Korvotney Barber and redshirt sophomore Tony Neysmith) hail from Georgia.
Projected starters Auburn: F Korvotney Barber (12.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg), G Rasheem Barrett (9.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg), G DeWayne Reed (13.3 ppg, 3.9 apg), G Tay Waller (12.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg), Quantez Robertson (6.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
Projected starters Georgia: F Terrance Woodbury (14.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg), F Trey Thompkins (12.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg), C Albert Jackson (4.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg), G Dustin Ware (6.5 ppg, 3.0 apg), G Corey Butler (6.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg)