Bruce Pearl, Johni Broome Slam Auburn after Collapse vs. Tennessee in SEC Tournament

The Auburn Tigers saw their journey in the SEC Tournament end this afternoon against the Tennessee Volunteers in a 72-62 loss. Auburn controlled the majority of the game, holding a 10-point lead with 10 minutes to play. However, the Tigers collapsed, giving up a 20-0 run on their way to a loss that had program legends calling the fight of the team into question.

Former head coach Bruce Pearl was the first to comment, raising questions about the defense near the rim during the stretch. 2024-25 Sporting News Player of the Year and Auburn star Johni Broome responded to Pearl, providing his perspective simply and directly.

"There's Rim Protection and then there's what's been allowed to happen in the last 10 minutes," Pearl posted before Broome added, "Some people didn't show up ready to play."

Some people didn’t show up ready to play 🤷🏽‍♂️
— Johni Broome (@JohniBroome) March 12, 2026

It is difficult to argue with the former Auburn big man’s assessment after watching the Tigers do everything except score for 6:36 of game time while giving up 20 points, possibly ending Auburn’s season in the process. Tahaad Pettiford scored 28 of the team’s 62 points, but most of his teammates struggled to find any consistency.

The collapse was particularly frustrating given the first 30 minutes of the game, where Auburn looked to be in control in Nashville for the second day in a row. Tennessee’s offense was struggling, Pettiford was in a scoring groove, and it looked to be smooth sailing. However, when the Volunteers’ defense clamped down, the Tigers’ competitive fight simply was not strong enough.

The Auburn offense fell more and more out of its system as the drought persisted, with guards struggling to find space and eventually settling for nearly impossible, hotly contested shots that predictably did not fall. Keyshawn Hall, Auburn’s most prolific foul shooter, could not find his way to the line or make anything from the field, scoring just five points before the final two minutes of the game, by which point the outcome was decided.

As the offensive struggles mounted, so did the frustration within the team. Hall got into it with teammate KeShawn Murphy following a Tennessee technical, refusing to go back to the Auburn bench despite Murphy’s efforts. The two had to be separated, and neither was especially effective for the remainder of the game.

To top off the disastrous stretch, head coach Steven Pearl was whistled for a technical foul after a Tennessee alley-oop with 3:56 to play, which seemed to be the final blow to the Tigers’ ability to get back up and fight.

Auburn has struggled with similar issues for much of the latter half of the 2025-26 season, especially in the Tigers’ torrid February. However, there were hopes that the do-or-die nature of the SEC Tournament could bring the team back together and refocus them. However, it was not to be, as once again most of Auburn’s biggest stars looked anything but ready to go in the biggest moment of the season.