Bruce Pearl pushes back on narrative that loss to Florida helped Auburn

Sometimes in college basketball, a loss can serve as a spark or wake-up call. Many thought Auburn losing to Florida would be exactly that after an incredible 14-game win streak. They responded well on Tuesday, going into Nashville and taking down a talented Vanderbilt team.

Bruce Pearl pushed back on the idea of the Florida loss helping Auburn, though. He spoke on such following the Vanderbilt win, believing his team was straight-up beat by Florida. It’s part of being in the competitive SEC this season, currently on pace to be the greatest conference in college basketball history.

“It’s a classic, you think so,” Pearl said. “But I honestly don’t think it had any effect. I thought Florida beat us, I thought Florida was better… I thought their front line was more active, bouncier. I thought Florida was better. We may see them again down the road, that’s a Final Four team. I don’t think it was like ‘Well, I’m glad we got that loss out of the way now.’ Like, what are you talking about? Have you seen our schedule?”

Pearl went on to ask media members if they would have been surprised if Vanderbilt had won. The answer might have been no as the Commodores have grown accustomed to taking down highly-ranked teams on their home court. Kentucky and Tennessee were both on the receiving end of a courtstorming this season.

Auburn was slow coming out of the gates but eventually pulled away for a comfortable win. A great way to bounce back after the first SEC loss of the season.

The goal from the start was to take things one game at a time. Win or lose, flushing the previous game and focusing on the upcoming opponent is the mindset Pearl wants. He likes what his players have been able to do thus far.

“It’s just about taking it one game at a time,” Pearl said. “So far, this team has done a pretty good job of taking it one at a time and we’ve learned a lot from our wins. Florida beat us because they were better.”

You could say the next game is going to be a big one and draw a lot of attention. Auburn heads across the state to face Alabama, set to be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. ESPN College GameDay will be in Tuscaloosa for the matchup as well.

If Auburn can come out with a win, Pearl will give credit to the work his team put in — not attribute it to a loss previously taken on the schedule.