Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl is experiencing the same thing in his preseason camp that Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze experienced in his preseason camp: with every bit of good news comes a bit of bad news.

Pearl and the Tigers’ basketball program held their first intrasquad scrimmage over the weekend after opening preseason camp on Tuesday.

The good news? The Tigers were able to score.

“We scored 88 points, we shot 50% from three, we shot 55% from the field, had 19 assists and only 11 turnovers,” Pearl told media members ahead of the Bruce, Barkley and Basketball golf event Monday. “That’s the good news.”

Finding success from beyond the arc was a point of emphasis for Pearl coming into the season after it was a weakness for the Tigers last season, when Auburn was 309th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage and averaged just over three made 3-pointers per game.

So the fact that the Tigers’ were able to shoot it at a 50% clip during the scrimmage — paired with everything else Pearl mentioned — is good news.

The bad news?

“We did it against ourselves,” Pearl said. “Which means we couldn’t guard anybody. So I don’t know whether to be happy because the defense scored, or angry because we didn’t make enough defensive plays and didn’t show enough speed and athleticism to bother us.”

Junior Florida International transfer Denver Jones and junior Chaney Johnson are two guys Pearl named when asked who consistently wins defensive battles, while senior Chris Moore has cemented himself as one of Auburn’s more physical defenders.

“But I’d say we definitely need more defensive playmakers,” Pearl said.

Offensively, Pearl said that six or seven guys finished the scrimmage in double figures, while Johni Broome finished with nine points.

Freshman guard Aden Holloway, Auburn’s 5-star gem from Pearl’s most recent recruiting cycle, impressed in his first scrimmage with the Tigers.

“I thought you could see that Aden stepped up a little bit. His energy level was really good,” Pearl said. “But he could make shots. Now he’s gotta continue to do a better job to be a better playmaker.”

Accustomed to be being the best on the floor on any given night during his time in the prep ranks, Holloway’s ability to score on offense is his strength, Pearl says.

“I’m going to want Aden to score because that’s what he does really well offensively,” Pearl said. I want him to improve as a passer because it’ll make us better, it’ll make him better. When he doesn’t pass it, it’ll have nothing to do with him being selfish or not giving the ball up, it’s just that he’s better shooting it than he is passing it right now. We’ve got to work on improving that a little bit.”

Pearl and the Tigers are set to open the season on Nov. 7 when it heads to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on the Baylor Bears. That game will tipoff at 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on ESPN.

Auburn will also host an exhibition game at Neville Arena against Auburn University-Montgomery on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.

“I like where we’re at right now, the position that we’re in,” Pearl said. “We got stuff we got to do to get ready for the season, but it’s been a good start to camp.”