Bruce Pearl calls out officials over Denver Jones foul trouble vs. Georgia

Auburn has plenty of key players on the roster but the most unsung of them all might be Denver Jones. One of the team’s best shooters, Saturday against Georgia was a frustrating one. Jones dealt with foul trouble all afternoon and ended the game with four.

Bruce Pearl was not a fan of how Jones, specifically, was officiated. He does not believe there was not much contact in the calls against Jones, calling out the referees during his postgame press conference.

“Denver Jones is one of the best players on the floor,” Pearl said via Justin Hokanson of On3’s Auburn Live via X. “He got in some foul trouble without a whole lot (of contact).”

Johni Broome is the Auburn leader in minutes at just under 29 a game entering the Georgia game. Jones is not too far behind though, coming in at an average of 27.6 minutes. Pearl trusts him out there on both sides of the ball for the Tigers.

Unfortunately, Jones is going to see his average knocked down a few ticks. He was only out there for 23 minutes against Georgia after missing the final 6:44 of the first half due to two fouls. One of the calls against him was a technical foul for an after-the-whistle moment between the two teams. It was his fourth.

Jones wound up playing around the final five minutes with four fouls and did not get into any more trouble. Even so, Pearl clearly did not agree with a few of the calls and wanted to point that out when speaking to the media.

Looking at the fouls average throughout the season, Jones is whistled for 1.3 a contest. Deep down on the list compared to Auburn players, six guys average at least two fouls per game. Certainly unusual circumstances for Jones considering what has transpired this year.

Moving on will be important as Auburn’s schedule does not rest. Ole Miss is next up on the Plains and despite most recently suffering a loss to Vanderbilt, has been one of the SEC’s most consistent teams. Chris Beard is set to get the program into the NCAA Tournament after a five-year drought.

Jones will continue to play a big role for the Tigers in their quest to win the SEC regular season championship. Pearl is just hoping Jones is able to stay out of foul trouble against Ole Miss while getting help from officials.