Charles Barkley calls out Auburn's effort vs. Alabama State: 'You can't just show up'

Charles Barkley let out an audible sigh as No. 1 overall seed Auburn escaped with a 41-31 halftime lead on 16th-seeded Alabama State thanks to a 9-0 run to close out the first half of their opening round NCAA Tournament game Thursday from Rupp Arena in Lexington.

Still, after the upset-minded Hornets left the famous Auburn alumnus feeling stung after Alabama State pulled within 32-31 with 1:48 remaining in the opening half.

While the double-digit halftime lead alleviated some of his consternation, Barkley made sure to send a clear message to the top-seeded Tigers during CBS’ in-studio halftime coverage.

“You have to play, you can’t just show up and think you’re going to win,” Barkley said. “And Alabama State has nothing to lose. They can go out there free swinging and everything. When you’re the higher seed, you have to come out and jump on them. You can’t give them confidence. You have to let them know you’re bigger, stronger and you’ve got better players.

“I was a little disappointed in Auburn’s energy level (in the first half), because, as I said earlier, in a one-and-done scenario, you can’t relax,” Barkley continued. “Because the pressure switches to the higher seed the longer a game goes. I’m glad we’re up 10 at the half, but if we’re up six with 10 minutes to go, all the pressure’s on Auburn.

“But I expect them to come out (of halftime strong), Bruce (Pearl) is one of the best in-game coaches we’ve got, he’s going to make adjustments. But Auburn’s going to have to make some shots, take the ball out of Johni (Broome) and Auburn’s got to make some 3s, which they’re not making now.”

The Tigers were led with 15 first-half points on five 3-pointers from senior guard Miles Kelly, while senior forward Johni Broome added 7 points and a team-high six rebounds in the opening half. Reserve forwards Tahaad Pettiford and Chaney Johnson also added 7 first-half points for Auburn.

Meanwhile, Alabama State was led with nine points from sophomore guard Amarr Knox.

Charles Barkley picks Auburn to lose at Final Four in 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket

While Barkley was clearly surprised by Auburn’s first-half issues against 16th-seeded Alabama State, the March Madness analyst clearly expects his Tigers will ultimately struggle should it make the Final Four.

Not even Barkley is picking against the scorching-hot Florida Gators.

Barkley, who is part of CBS’s in-studio analyst team throughout March Madness, revealed his personal bracket on Thursday. In it, he had No. 1 overall seed Auburn (28-5) making its second-ever Final Four this season, but not going any further, falling to his projected eventual champion Gators (30-4). Barkley also expects some interesting upsets on the other side of his bracket, projecting eighth-seeded Gonzaga (25-8) will make it out of the Midwest Region before beating No. 4-seeded Arizona (22-12) in the Final Four.