Bruce Pearl has expressed his displeasure with his Auburn players’ performance in the game against the Florida Gators on Feb. 8, 2025.
Auburn suffered a reality check at home Saturday as the No. 6 team in college basketball handed the Tigers their second loss of the season with a 90-81 win.
After the loss, Pearl credited the Gators, saying they were more fired up than his players, who did not act like they wanted the win.
Bruce Pearl Says Auburn Did Not Follow Game Plan, Gators Deserved the Win
Walter Clayton Jr. spearheaded the Gators’ win, dropping 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds in 40 minutes. However, Pearl believes the result could have been different if Auburn had stuck to the game plan of keeping the ball out of Clayton’s hands.
“Congratulations to Florida on a great victory,” Pearl said. “Great game plan. I thought they, being down, really rallied. Clayton was tremendous. Our game plan defensively was to try to get the ball out of his hands, and after the first couple of possessions, you would never know that was our game plan.”
“We did it the first couple of possessions and then stopped doing it.”
Despite saying his players did not follow the plan, Pearl noted the Gators fully deserved the win because they wanted it more than Auburn did.
“They played harder, they played better, they played more desperately. We did not look like the number-one team in the country. We didn’t act like the number-one team in the country. We didn’t prepare like it, and as a result, we got beat,” Pearl added.
Auburn Blows an Early Lead Against the Gators but Can Bounce Back
While it might be true that they let Clayton have more of the ball, the Tigers’ failure to capitalize on their fast start also contributed to the loss.
Auburn got out of the blocks early, with Miles Kelly and John Broome leading the scoring with 22 and 18 points, respectively.
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However, the Gators stayed close and earned the reward their performance deserved. The No. 6 team dropped 13 three-pointers and led by as many as 21 points in the second half.
The win improved Florida’s record to 20-3 this season, as they sit third in the Southeastern division behind Alabama and Auburn.
As for the Tigers, they remain the number-one team with a 21-2 record and will look to bounce back when they take on Vanderbilt on Feb. 12, 2025.
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