Nashville, Tenn. (EETV) - As day 1 came to a close at SEC Tipoff '18, all eyes were on Auburn and the federal investigation that is rocking the college basketball world.
"And I think because, because of our situation right now, at this time, I can't comment on those kind of things," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "I hope you understand."
The most repeated words of the day from Pearl and his players.
Junior guard Bryce Brown said, "I have no comment on that," when asked about the investigation.
And teammate, junior forward Horace Spencer, reiterated saying, "we can't comment on that."
With the cloud of the bribery scheme looming over the heads of Auburn, current team members feel they are more focused on the game than the investigation.
"We really don't worry about that, we can't control it," said Spencer. "So we focus on the things we can control as going to practice, being ready to go when just trying to get better... trying to get ready for the season."
Tiger fans may have concerns how the investigation would affect the program, but players feel it is just a bump in the road.
"It's a sad case but we're moving forward from there," said Brown.
The Tigers have many unknowns moving into the season with no timetable set for the investigation.
"I would imagine, as we continue over the next few weeks we're gonna get, we're gonna have more information and perhaps some more clarity," Pearl said.
The FBI report has called some Auburn players into question, leaving their eligibility (potentially) unknown for the season.
"As of yesterday in practice, every player that we have on the roster was in practice," said Pearl.
The investigation has brought a lot of national attention to Auburn but is the last thing on the minds of the players.
"I can't wait to get started, start going," Spencer said.
Auburn will tip-off their regular season Nov. 10 against Norfolk State, but will play an exhibition game Nov. 2 against Barry.
