No. 22 Auburn walked into a sold-out Legacy Arena hoping to do something no team has done in the Pearl family era of basketball on the Plains: take down an AP No. 1 team.
The Tigers put up a tremendous fight against No. 1 Houston, but troubles at the free-throw line plagued them as they fell 73-72 in the Magic City.
“We missed 12 free throws, that’s the difference in the game,” Pearl said. “If we make our free throws, it’s a different ballgame. We expected to win the game. I have elite confidence in this group. It’s about what we do from here.”
Auburn’s offense had a strong game against the relentless Cougars, with three players in double figures. Keyshawn Hall, Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton led the way for the Tigers, combining for 48 points.
“Stay together in big situations. That’s what we did,” Pettiford said. “We got stops when we needed to, just couldn’t convert at the end of the game. We think we can compete with anybody in the country. We fought against a great team.”
Hall, the UCF transfer, exited Sunday’s game late in the fourth quarter, which proved costly down the stretch. Without Hall’s presence, the Tigers struggled to get a shot off late, ultimately settling for a hail mary lob pass to KeShawn Murphy, whose shot was blocked.
Turnovers and missed free throws were the difference in this one. Auburn turned the ball over eight times and missed 12 shots from the charity stripe, nine of those misses coming in the second half. Freshman Sebastian Williams-Adams couldn’t provide an answer at the line, going 3-for-8 with multiple costly misses in the closing minutes.
Coming into this showdown, one worry for Auburn was its ability to rebound against a glass-cleaning team like Houston. The Tigers did a solid job, only losing the board battle 40–37.
Trailing by eight early in the second half, the momentum began to swing back in the Tigers’ direction following Elyjah Freeman’s poster dunk.
Many members of the Auburn family and college basketball critics were worried about Steven Pearl and the Tigers following their nerve-wracking 95–90 victory over Bethune-Cookman. However, tonight the tone around the country has completely flipped, and despite the loss, the majority of fans will agree the future is bright for Auburn this season.
“We have a chance to be pretty good,” Pearl said. “If we continue to do the things we know we’re capable of and continue to build and trust each other, we’ll be okay.”
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Rory is a sophomore majoring in journalism sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @RorymGarvin
