With his team being losers of 7 out of its last 8 games, Steven Pearl kept it brief in his postgame press conference following Auburn‘s loss to Ole Miss on Saturday night.
How brief? Just under 3 minutes.
Pearl discussed a handful of key points following the 85-79 loss to the Rebels, a result that will certainly follow his team all the way to Selection Sunday.
The first-year head coach opened by apologizing to the Auburn fan base for his team’s play before delving into the game itself. Pearl emphasized that Ole Miss’ usual struggles from the three-point line didn’t translate to this game, with the visitors knocking down 10 from deep.
Pearl also provided some clarification on why forward KeShawn Murphy didn’t start, explaining that the Mississippi State transfer was late to a film session during the week.
After trading blows with the Rebels for much of the night, the Tigers faltered late and couldn’t overcome 14 turnovers and 8 missed free throws in the end.
With a 15-14 overall record and immense struggles through the past month, Auburn can ill-afford to take a loss in its final 2 games, although neither will be easy outs. A similarly desperate LSU squad, which just beat Ole Miss last week, will visit Tuesday before the Tigers make their annual trip to Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
Will Auburn make the NCAA Tournament in Steven Pearl’s first season? The Tigers are on the bubble and Kalshi is taking action on predictions.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
