Auburn 'still trying to certify' eligibility of Austin Wiley, Danjel Purifoy

Auburn center Austin Wiley (50) and Auburn forward Danjel Purifoy (3) cheer from the bench Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017, during an NCAA basketball game against UConn at Auburn Area in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Auburn is still in the process of trying to certify the eligibility of star players Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy.

Coach Bruce Pearl said Thursday that there has not been a change in the status of either player ahead of Auburn's home matchup against Arkansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. Neither Wiley nor Purifoy have played in a game this season while being held out in connection to the FBI investigation into the criminal influence of money in college basketball, which resulted in the Sept. 26 arrest of former associate head coach Chuck Person.

"We're still in the process of trying to get Austin and Danjel eligible," Pearl said.

Auburn has yet to declare either player ineligible, according to Pearl, meaning it has yet to apply for their reinstatement with the NCAA. Both players continue to practice with the team to stay ready for if or when they are cleared to return, and both are enrolled in classes for the spring semester, which begins Wednesday.

Without Wiley and Purifoy, two of the Tigers' three best players entering the year, Auburn has used a nine-man rotation to help get off to a 13-1 start. Auburn has won 11 straight games and opened SEC play with a 94-84 road upset of No. 23 Tennessee for the team's first road win against a ranked team since 2007, when it knocked off No. 25 Alabama on Feb. 24 of that year.

Should Wiley or Purifoy be cleared to return, Pearl said he knows how he would adjust the team's rotation moving forward.

"We'll put the best players out there," Pearl said, "and that's what the team would want, and based on matchups and based on where we are."

AL.com will update this post.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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