Auburn HC Bruce Pearl's 'human nature' admission after letdown vs. Texas A&M
03/05/2025 05:15 AM
Winning what is arguably the greatest conference in men’s college basketball history is extremely exhausting. After clinching the SEC regular season title in Saturday’s win at Kentucky, No. 1 Auburn (27-3) was thoroughly outmatched in Tuesday’s road game versus Texas A&M (21-9), falling 83-72 in Reed Arena. Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl did not see the type of physicality he has come to expect from his program.
The Aggies relied on its staggering advantage in offensive rebounding and its defense on Wooden Award contender Johni Broome, who temporarily left the game with a shoulder issue and finished with eight points and seven boards. Texas A&M glue guy Andersson Garcia posted 11 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and one block, perfectly depicting the team’s fighting spirit.
Conversely, Auburn looked lethargic. Pearl was not exactly surprised by the underwhelming outing, attributing a lack of stakes as a possible reason why the Tigers did not crash the defensive glass with more urgency.
“It’s human nature now,” the longtime coach said after the loss, per Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson. “This game did not have implications as far as a conference championship. If it did, would the guys have put their bodies on the line a little bit more? I hope so.”
Did Auburn simply exhale a little too early?
Auburn basketball pushed through a non-conference slate that included Houston, Iowa State, Duke and Purdue before going to battle in the relentless SEC. Only two teams in the league, LSU and South Carolina, have a losing record this season. Maintaining supreme concentration and intensity was crucial for Pearl’s squad to win the outright conference title, and it completed that mission with a week to spare.
A celebration presumably ensued over the weekend, and perhaps the good vibes stayed with Auburn on its way to College Station. Texas A&M’s four-game losing streak might have given the top-ranked team some extra confidence as well. The Tigers know better than to rest easy in this unforgiving conference, however.
Auburn can still secure the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament with this defeat, and unfortunately, the players might have subconsciously been aware of that. Or, maybe the Aggies were simply better on this night. They deserve their due.
In any case, Bruce Pearl will use this humbling outcome as motivation for Saturday’s regular season finale versus Alabama, and in the important games that lie ahead. He and the rest of the country know what this group is capable of when it is playing at peak form.
Duke, Florida and now Texas A&M. That is the short list of teams that have beaten the Tigers during the 2024-25 campaign. Pearl will do everything in his power to ensure that it does not get any longer.
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