It feels like only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down.

Due to the FBI’s investigation into Auburn basketball, as well as the internal investigation, a cloud will remain over Auburn hoops for the rest of the 2017-18 season. People will continue to speculate about Bruce Pearl’s future, which appears murky at best. Fans will continue wonder what the program will look like when this storybook season comes to an end.

That will have its time and place. But for now, why not enjoy the ride? Why not appreciate the fact that the Tigers are closing in on an SEC Championship and possibly a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Some probably are appreciating that, but nationally speaking, it doesn’t feel like the college basketball world is ready to embrace one of the stories of the year because of the doom and gloom of the FBI investigation.

That’s not to say any wrongdoings Auburn’s program committed should be forgotten. In all likelihood, there will be dozens of basketball programs who have their day in court (literally).

Isn’t that all the more reason to go all in with this team?

Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

In sports, we spend too much time looking back and looking ahead. It’s bragging about decade-old accomplishments and recruiting class rankings. It’s worshipping greats who haven’t suited up in 20 years and overanalyzing a high school junior who could be the savior. We’re all guilty of it.

The past and the future always seems to be more intriguing than the present. It’s “what might’ve been” and “what could be.”

But Auburn is the perfect example of why the present should be savored.

Let’s say in a hypothetical world that the worst-case scenario unfolds after 2018. That is, Pearl is fired, Austin Wiley and Daniel Purifjoy leave for the NBA and the Tigers suffer multiple key transfers at season’s end. Oh, and the program faces a postseason ban and a loss of scholarships. Again, that’s worst-case scenario.

Whatever happens in the next month isn’t going to change any of that. If the NCAA really does plan on bringing the hammer down on Auburn as many suspect it will, there’s really nothing that Auburn can do to prevent that. The hay is in the barn. TV appearances from Pearl won’t stand in the way of an FBI investigation.

Speaking of that ESPN interview that aired on Saturday morning, it was odd. That’s probably because by nature, Pearl is an odd guy. He talked about how he and his staff couldn’t “blankety-blank” believe that their team was No. 5 overall in the first NCAA Tournament reveal. The rest of the interview was about the cloud of the FBI investigation and whether he’d have a future at Auburn.

All of that stuff is more important than the result of a single game. I get that. If ESPN reporter Jeff Goodman sat there and only asked Pearl questions about how he was going to game plan for Alabama, he wouldn’t have done his job.

Still, if I’m an Auburn fan, I’m trying to block out that noise for now. If I’m an Auburn fan, I’m acting like the kid at the end of summer vacation who doesn’t want to believe that school is starting again.

This season has already been beyond the most optimistic expectations. Auburn was picked to finish ninth in the preseason SEC media poll. That was before we knew that Wiley and Purifjoy were ineligible for the 2018-19 season. To actually be in the national title conversation at the end of February is an astounding feat in a sport that’s typically dominated by blue bloods.

Tonight, Auburn will square off with Alabama in what’s sure to be a raucous environment at Auburn Arena. It’ll likely be at capacity like it was for the last 4 home games.

That’s how it should be. Years like this don’t come around very often, and they should be appreciated for all they’re worth.

It’s fun to live in the moment with a team like this. Winning that first SEC regular season championship of the 21st century would be an incredible accomplishment, as would be claiming the program’s first SEC Tournament title since 1985. And if Auburn could take down Alabama and Kentucky to get there, all the better.

I don’t know what the future holds for Auburn basketball. Nobody really does. There might be a cloud hanging over the program for the foreseeable future.

But it’s not raining yet, and Auburn fans should be soaking in the sunshine as long as they can.