Context: the Tennessee embarrassed Auburn on Saturday, winning 70-65. It seemed like there was no reprieve for Johni Broome and his squad as they struggled to muster up some semblance of an offense. Even after a late game push, narrowing the lead to just 2, the Tigers fell short of their SEC Tournament aspirations. And from what we can see? Bruce Pearl had a heavy hand in their loss, and it wasn’t just about this one game. Surprising? Maybe not.
The Auburn head coach has maintained a troubling pattern throughout his coaching career. Irony has it that he coached the Tennessee Volunteers right before he became the Tigers’ head coach and his success there was limited to the regular season. Bruce Pearl took the Vols to six straight NCAA Tournaments, but an Elite Eight appearance is all he got out of it. Analysts shared their concerns after Auburn’s shocking SEC Tournament exit, shedding light on their locker room woes.
On The Field of 68: After Dark, national analyst Jeff Goodman discussed Auburn’s woes in March. However, he had an interesting point to bring up about their loss. “I feel like because they kept winning and winning and winning, they got really loose. And they had a lot of fun. They do, they talk a lot of s— bro. But sometimes I feel like Bruce might have let them get too far with some of that.” It might not be fun to hear, but it’s true!
Auburn has dominated college basketball for the past couple of months, and they’ve dominated the best teams in the league. After winning so much, and for so long, things can get to a squad’s head. Winning hides all your faults, but losing will highlight flaws no one knew existed. It’s the coach’s job to make sure his players are grounded. Bruce Pearl needs to get his team to lock in towards their goal, rather than focus on the Goodman even pointed out their star player, Johni Broome, for focusing on things other than the ball.
“Sometimes he’s complaining to the refs too much, talking a little bit,” He said, pleading for the forward and his team to get back to what they love—winning. However, according to Bruce Pearl, the loss wasn’t something to get worried about. What did he have to say about Auburn’s SEC exit? Let’s find out.
Bruce Pearl still believes Auburn is the 1 seed after SEC Tournament upset
After a weak start to March, analysts are getting concerned about the Tigers’ chances. But can the coach get low? No, Bruce Pearl wasn’t concerned at all regarding their NCAA Tournament odds. In the post-game press conference, the Auburn head coach reassured the masses of his confidence.
When a reporter asked if his squad was feeling the pressure, Bruce Pearl didn’t hold back. “Yeah, we’re panicked.” The head coach snarked, before talking about how his team’s record speaks for itself. Which makes sense considering the dominance that they showed throughout the year. But for how long can they live over their past glory?
Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) blocks Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) as Auburn Tigers take on Alabama Crimson Tide at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Auburn Tigers lead Alabama Crimson Tide 55-41 at halftime.
Auburn’s NET ranking has taken a dip after their disastrous showing in March, but they’re still above the masses. Currently, they’re down to #2 with a 16-4 Quad 1 record. And according to Pearl? They’re a number one seed if there ever was one.
With their regular season dominance, and their impeccable Quad 1 record, a loss from Tennessee doesn’t put them off-track. “Certainly losing to Tennessee as a team ranked fifth or sixth in the country is not necessarily shouldn’t knock us off that spot.” Well, it is not bad to be confident, but there’s an underlying overconfidence, or is it just to keep the morale high?
It will be interesting to see how March pans out for Bruce Pearl, and whether he will manage to regain his rhythm. There’s no doubt Auburn is a championship team, but they’ll need to convert opportunities into wins and build momentum once again.
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