02/08 at 01:35 AM

Big win.

“Very big win,” guard Rasheem Barrett said.

Auburn 78. Tennessee 77.

Huge.

“Great win for our guys,” head coach Jeff Lebo said.

Very big.

For Lebo, at this point, they all are.

Just ask him.

“There’s not one that’s not,” the fifth-year Auburn coach said. “Try losing one. If you think it’s not, you’ll find out. They’re all big.”

This one especially …

Just because of the way Auburn played in its last game — a 19-point loss at Ole Miss.

Lebo called it the most disappointing loss of the season.

“We went over there and played like some bums,” Korvotney Barber said, “for real.”

Just because of Auburn’s up-and-down (but, mostly down) season, where you never know which team’s going to show up. (See: South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas … well, the entire SEC schedule up to this point.)

Just because the next two games are at home.

Just because of the monkey firmly perched between Lebo’s shoulder blades and the questions of if he’ll make it another year on the Plains.

But those questions will have to wait, at least for a few days.

Saturday’s win was big.

Very big.

But, again, at this point, they all are.

Why?

Because the monkey’s not the only animal in the Auburn men’s basketball locker room.

There’s also an elephant. No, not that one. The one that will have to be dealt with at the end of the season. The one representing Lebo’s future.

There’s no use ignoring it. Lebo’s future is uncertain, at best.

After five years and a 22-50 Southeastern Conference record, there are some questions surrounding the direction of the program under its current head coach.

How serious are those questions?

Depends who you ask.

Just like Saturday’s win over Tennessee. How big was it? Who you asking?

I asked Lebo.

We know what he said.

They’re all big.

And so is the rest of the season. Every game — every single game — those questions will be there.

How will they be answered? We don’t know. That’s up to Lebo and his players.

One thing’s for sure, the more wins, the easier the questions.

Winning helps a lot.

Winning big, even more.

Just like Saturday.

“It was huge,” Lebo said. “There’s no doubt about it. It was a huge game for us.”

At this point, they all are.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at 737-2513.