What Bruce Pearl said after Auburn basketball loss to Florida
The Auburn Tiger’s logged another first this season down in Gainesville. Saturday marked the first time Auburn basketball has lost a game in regulation. The slow offensive starts that have plagued the Tigers in recent games finally caught up to them as Auburn fell to Florida 63-62 on the road. After the game, Bruce Pearl had this to say.
Opening Statement
We just didn’t play well enough to win tonight. Give Florida some credit they made some really big shots at the end. Our kids really battled, and I thought we played hard defensively but we struggled on the offensive end. Our second-half defense wasn’t as good as our first have defense. We’re best when everyone contributes and we relied too much on Jabari tonight. He was able to make plays but we’re best when everyone contributes and that wasn’t the case tonight.
On the Final Play
I probably should’ve called timeout once I saw Florida back off. I was thinking they were going to overplay but they kept everything in front. If we complete that last play and Walker catches it and dunks it, I look like a genius.
On defensive adjustment on the perimeter
Appleby made some big shots. He and Jones were the ones we didn’t want to make big shots. Jones didn’t have a big night but we were supposed to be pressed up on Appleby and we weren’t.
On the slow offensive start
We didn’t really execute. We’ve gone through some things in practice but as the season progresses you got to be able to make adjustments to what you’re doing. I didn’t think there was a lot of confusion, but there wasn’t much execution. Unfortunately, we just weren’t sharp in our execution and we didn’t have enough guys contributing.
On having 17 turnovers
It was bad. We just didn’t pass it very well and if we can’t execute our half-court offense better it will limit how far we can go. Too many balls thrown out of bounds and other crazy stuff. We got to be able to take care of the basketball.
The Auburn Tigers will be back in action Wednesday at home vs Ole Miss.
