After a disappointing 2024 campaign in which Auburn went 5-7 — its fourth straight losing season — head coach Hugh Freeze and his staff reshaped the roster with a top 10 transfer portal class nationally.
“Played beautiful basketball in the first half. We were prepared. We had a great game plan. They executed it really well. We only turned the ball over twice. Second half, Florida's effort and energy, the fact that we're not as deep as what we normally are, was a factor. I thought fatigue was a factor. As a result, we weren't able to maintain control of the game.”
When Pearl took over, Auburn was coming off its sixth consecutive losing season and had not reached the NCAA Tournament in more than a decade. Now, the Tigers are headed to their second Final Four.
The duo of Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford accounted for 24 of the Tigers' 28 points during its 28-6 second half run as No. 1 seed Auburn punched its ticket to the Elite Eight.
After a barrage of Bluejay threes in the early goings, No. 1 seed Auburn's backcourt fueled the Tigers' second-half surge their Round of 32 takedown of No. 9 seed Creighton.
Miles Kelly caught fire again at Rupp, tying Auburn’s NCAA Tournament record with seven threes in an 83-63 win over Alabama State.
There were many underlying factors in the top-seeded Tigers 70-65 loss to No. 4 seed Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinal game on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena, but the lack of bench production was prominent factor as to why Auburn's comeback efforts fell short.
Simply put, your guards must shine in March. And that's what the top-seeded Tigers’ backcourt did in their quarterfinal takedown of No. 8 seed Ole Miss on Friday.
Bruce Pearl: “We just got physically punched in the mouth. You know, we just got physically run out of here. It's how Texas A&M plays.”
History was made for the top-ranked Auburn Tigers on Saturday as it cruised to a 94-78 win over No. 17 Kentucky for their first win at Rupp Arena since 1988 while clinching a share of the regular-season SEC championship, the Tigers fifth in program history and third since 2018.
