Pearl Unsatisfied with Auburn's Effort, Despite 3-0 Start

The Auburn Tigers head coach isn't letting sloppy play slide just because they're getting in the win column

The Auburn Tigers are winning, but there's still work to be done | John Reed-Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.- The 22nd-ranked Auburn Tigers moved to 3-0 on the new campaign after defeating Wofford 93-62 on Tuesday evening in Neville Arena. During the matchup, some Tigers players played lazily and lacked discipline. Auburn basketball head coach Steven Pearl was visibly angry during these moments in the game, calling timeouts when he noticed his team slipping, despite being up by double-digits most of the matchup. 

“The standard is the standard, and we have to be able to perform to that,” Pearl said in the post-game press conference. 

“I told them all that I am going to continuously coach effort and energy. I am not going to get mad at you for taking a bad shot. I'm not going to get mad at you for missing a communication on defense; that's going to happen. But if you don't dive on the floor for loose balls, you don’t run out and contest an open shooter, don’t run guys off of the line, if somebody is beat and you don’t rotate over and get vertical at the rim, if you don’t do the little things that are required to win, then I’m going to get after your a**... they gotta understand I don’t care what the score is, we can be down 30 and I’m going to coach that hard.”

Despite winning by double digits, Pearl wants his team to continue to put in maximum effort, rather than begin to slack when up big and possibly allowing the other team to get a groove going and possibly get back in the game. 

Keyshawn Hall and Elyjah Freeman were both dominant in Auburn’s win, with both scoring 20 or more points. However, there were still plays where both were lazy on the defensive end of the floor. They were often able to answer back when they gave up a bucket, but that will not always be the case against better teams. 

Auburn has one of its toughest opponents of the regular season next on the schedule, and playing at the level they partially did against Wofford is not going to get the Tigers the upset win. 

The Tigers will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, for their Battleground 2k25 matchup against a fellow Final-Four member from last season, the No.1 Houston Cougars. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.