No matter how good you are, with all the attention on March Madness, it is never easy as every step feels like a do-or-die move. So, Bruce Pearl must have breathed a sigh of relief after Auburn beat Alabama State. The Auburn head coach has certainly experienced being on the wrong side of March Madness over the last few years, struggling to make it past the first weekend. Namely, their loss to Yale last year comes to mind. But the Tigers have turned it around, and now they’re looking forward to their second-round matchup—Creighton. But even with a good start, there’s a caution alert!
The Bluejays aren’t easy pickings at all! They upset the marginally higher-seed, Louisville, as they proved why they’re in the Tournament in the first place. But now, according to analysts, Auburn will have a tall task ahead of them on Saturday.
On The Field of 68: After Dark, show hosts Rob Dauster, Matt McCall, and Jeff Goodman discussed the high-voltage second-round matchup. And their discussion? McCall brought up Creighton’s strategy, which was to give Louisville deep shots in the midrange, forcing the Cardinals into no-man’s-land. “That’s what Creighton want you to do. That’s what they’re gonna make Auburn do. They’re gonna make them take long two-point jump shots. And if you fall into the bait of taking them? You can lose, just like Louisville did.”
Honestly, Creighton wasn’t the favorite in the first round, but analysts have them well-positioned for their game against Bruce Pearl’s team. “The advantage that they had that game was controlling the glass.” They talked about how the Tigers don’t have a good rebounding core around Johni Broome. Meanwhile, the Bluejays crashed boards with a newfound fervor against Louisville.
Not only that, Creighton’s offense is quite high-tempo! They have solid talent everywhere, from the perimeter to the paint, and a couple of their guys stepped up quite well in the first round. Goodman even went as far as to call Ryan Kalkbrenner “as good of an all-around big man that there is in the country.” The seven-footers’ dominance was well-known heading into March, but Jamiya Neal took the playoffs by surprise!
Neal’s 29-point masterclass on insane shooting splits was the game-changer for his team. “I just think right now, Jamiya Neal is playing at a different level and that changes Creighton.” Meanwhile, Auburn is presented with a myriad of questions ahead of their second-round showing. The Tigers dominated quite heavily in the regular season, but their troubles in March are well known. With Creighton’s next, Bruce Pearl is placed in a precarious position.
Anything less than a Final Four would be a disappointment after the season that Auburn had. However, Alabama State exposed a few gaps in Bruce Pearl’s team that he would like to fix going forward. What exactly were they? Let’s find out!
Bruce Pearl wants more out of his team after the first-round triumph
Not a single soul expected the Auburn Tigers to lose in the first round. Alabama State, although a very good team, lacks the sheer talent required to beat Johni Broome and his teammates. However, their victory felt empty as opposed to the margin they won by. The Hornets exposed a few glaring issues in Auburn’s style of play, but what exactly went wrong for Bruce Pearl’s squad?
After a twenty-point triumph in the first round, Bruce Pearl addressed the media, disappointed with his team’s performance. But first, he gave credit where credit was due.“They were a formidable opponent. We didn’t play our best, but I think they had a lot to do with it. So I just give them a great deal of credit.”
NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: Auburn at Texas A&M Mar 4, 2025 College Station, Texas, USA Auburn Tigers guard Chad Baker-Mazara 10 reacts during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. College Station Reed Arena Texas USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMariaxLysakerx 20250304_mcl_la6_075
Alabama State pointed out a few major flaws in Bruce Pearl’s team. For one, their free-throw shooting was atrocious! The Tigers shot about 56% from the foul line and missed a total of fourteen free throws. Pearl spoke a lot about valuing possessions on both ends of the court. “Did we value every possession on the defensive end? Did we value any offensive end scoring through contact? Did we just rely on the whistle? And then would we finish plays?” A lot of answers to give before they move to the second round. With head coach questions, he is surely not pulling any punches against his team.
After all, it all boils down to one game. March Madness is unpredictable, and Bruce Pearl knows that better than most. If Auburn doesn’t lock in for the game against Creighton, they could be facing a horrendous upset! Stay tuned for the action on Saturday as both teams go head-to-head for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
The post Walls Are Closing In on Bruce Pearl as Auburn’s March Madness Suffers a Rude Awakening From Ex-National Coach appeared first on EssentiallySports.