Auburn improving, will have to 'wait longer' for more success, says Bruce Pearl

Bruce Pearl returns to Tennessee (Tennessee 71, Auburn 63)

Bruce Pearl coaches from the sideline during Auburn's 71-63 loss to Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, January 31, 2015 in Knoxville, Tenn. (Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics)

Bruce Pearl

needs more time.

The first-year Auburn coach is accustomed to quick turnarounds and success in his 20 years in the business, but it's proven to be a tad more difficult on the Plains.

Auburn (10-11, 2-6 SEC) fell below .500 with a

on Saturday. The Tigers sit in a tie for 11th place in the SEC, a full three spots below where the media picked the Tigers in a preseason poll.

"I'm trying to build a foundation," Pearl said Saturday. "We're doing the best we can with what we have. Our kids had a chance to win on the road. That's the second time we've been on the road in the SEC where we had a chance to win. We've got to make progress. We've made progress."

It's a season of firsts for Pearl, who took over a program that hasn't advanced to the NCAA Tournament since 2003. Auburn is 0-7 on the road under Pearl, who is also experiencing the first four-game losing streak of his career. He never suffered through such a stretch at Tennessee, where he led the Volunteers to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances before he was fired amid an NCAA investigation in March 2011. Pearl has also never experienced a losing season in his previous 19 years as a college coach.

Tennessee's roster, of course, was much stronger in Pearl's first season. The likes of

Chris Lofton

, a future consensus All-American, led a team filled with future pros. Auburn is improving, Pearl said, but more players are needed. A top-15 recruiting class is on the way and should help in 2016 and beyond.

"I was able to do things at Tennessee right away because the roster was prepared," Pearl said last week. "It's going to be different (at Auburn). Some of the shine is going to wear off the apple. Some of the shine that I am going to come in here and turn this program right around, which some people maybe thought was possible, that's gone. But in some ways we have made enough progress with the program because there is more to it than just winning and losing -- it's the academics, it's the culture of discipline, it's the effort and energy. We've got to win enough games to be able to continue to make progress, be competitive, recruit positively and (have) good recruiting in the future. The success, we are just going to have to wait longer for the success."

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