Bruce Pearl questions officials, foul disparity in second half vs. Florida

Auburn increased its lead to double-digits halfway through the second half. Yet, head coach Bruce Pearl still wasn’t satisfied. With only 10 minutes left in the SEC Tournament Championship, Pearl revealed his frustrations with the referees.

“It’s tough. The fouls are like 8 to 3,” Pearl said. “It’s just really hard for us to be able to defend now and let them shoot bonus for the entire rest of the game. We got to defend without fouling.

“I thought the energy that that second group came in with right there [was good]. Denver Jones was in foul trouble in the first half and didn’t play a lot, so we’re getting him going right now.”

As of this report, Auburn has been called for 17 fouls compared to Florida’s 10. Consequently, Florida has shot 21 free throws while the Tigers have only shot 12. It was a similar story in the first half when Florida struggled to score away from the charity stripe.

“I thought we played really well offensively. We got what we wanted,” Pearl said at the halftime break. “We sent them to the foul line way too much. I think they had like six or seven field goals the entire half, so it’s great. I told our guys got keep it under 78 or something. We got chance to win this game.”

Auburn sets its eyes on the prize

Bruce Pearl and Co. will look to cut down on their fouls as they aim to secure their first SEC Tournament title since 2019. Of course, Auburn has its eyes set on a prize larger than the SEC Tournament. Ahead of the Tigers’ massive Sunday matchup, Pearl revealed Auburn’s mindset for the remainder of the season.

“I mean, we’ve been talking about trying to not lose again. That’s been our focus here in March, because I know, to the victor goes the spoils,” Pearl said. “I also know what it’s like for a community, our Auburn family, to travel to Nashville. You don’t want to lose the first game.

“Parents gotta go home, the band’s gotta go home, cheerleaders gotta go home. You want them to be able to stay in Nashville for a weekend and play for a championship. I’m confident we’re going to have a bunch of Auburn people driving up the highway from Alabama to cheer on the Tigers today.”