Steven Pearl doing his best to keep Auburn Tigers grounded

There's something that Steven Pearl knows as a head basketball coach that he's trying to teach his team.

His Auburn Tigers are 14-7 and 5-3 in SEC play. They've played some really good games and currently find themselves riding a four-game winning streak with victories over South Carolina, Ole Miss, No. 16 Florida and Texas.

They've also lost some tough ones, though. A one-point loss to No. 1 Houston earlier this season comes to mind. Most recently, there was an 84-74 loss on the road to unranked Missouri and a four-point loss to No. 23 Georgia in Athens.

It's been an up-and-down ride for the Tigers, and you have to imagine that Pearl is feeling it as a first-time head coach. That's undoubtedly why, when asked what he's learned about coaching in the SEC so far, he's preached consistently.

“I think trying to stay consistent, even when you have two devastating losses,” Pearl said after Auburn's 88-82 win over Texas (h/t On3). “I have to do what I do in my preparation and not change, and I want to be just as positive, hungry, and humble then as I am now when we win four in a row. For me, I think my guys have responded pretty well to me being more fiery in our huddles and our talks about what we have to do to win games."

Steven Pearl preaching consistency to his Auburn Tigers 

You can't ride the waves. Pearl may have learned that from his father, Bruce Pearl, whom he succeeded. 

The elder Pearl is arguably a college basketball legend after going 477-224 overall in 21 combined seasons at Milwaukee, Tennessee and Auburn. His son, Steven, was his successor on The Plains. 

One would think that the college basketball veteran has passed some wisdom down to his son, and now he's trying to pass it on to his team.

“I told our guys that those last three games aren’t going to make shots,” Steven Pearl said. “Those last three games aren’t going to grab rebounds. Those last three games aren’t going to play any defense. We have to do that tonight, and for the most part, I thought we did. So for me, it’s just trying to stay consistent in my routine. I say it all the time, but you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low. The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten is ‘it’s never as bad as you think it is, but it’s never as good as you think it is’.

We'll see if Auburn can keep consistent with a massive stretch of games coming up. It starts with a road game at Tennessee to end January and then the Tigers must play No. 23 Alabama, No. 18 Vanderbilt and No. 15 Arkansas in quick succession.