Texas A&M Coach Hints at Deeper Reason Officials Overturned Auburn Buzzer-Beater

The Auburn Tigers have experienced the worst luck from officiating over the past few months, both in football and now basketball, and comments from the postgame press conference on Tuesday night may even further infuriate fans.

Auburn dropped its second consecutive SEC game to Texas A&M on Tuesday night by a score of 90-88, but of course, in typical Auburn fashion, the result had to end in some sort of heartbreak.

Despite surrendering a 16-point lead in the wake of a 33-6 run by the Aggies midway through the second half, and Texas A&M ultimately extending its lead to 12 with under four minutes remaining in regulation, the Tigers found a way to draw it within reach in the last 60 seconds of action.

Auburn’s late attempted comeback ended in a dramatic buzzer-beater from center KeShawn Murphy that would’ve won the game, 91-90, but the officials reviewed the play and determined that the ball was not out of Murphy’s hands as time expired. Thus, the officials declared Texas A&M the winner in front of a furious crowd at Neville Arena.

UNBELIEVABLE ending in Texas A&M-Auburn 🤯

KeShawn Murphy’s buzzer-beating 3 was called good on the floor to give the Tigers a 91-90 lead. Auburn and their fans were going CRAZY.

After review, the shot was ruled NO GOOD and Texas A&M wins 90-88 😳

Did they get it right? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/jYWa0Ez5wU
— The College Sports Company (@CollegeSportsCo) January 7, 2026

Following the conclusion of the game, Texas A&M’s Bucky McMillan was asked about the ending from his perspective, and the first-year head coach had some interesting comments.

“I think [the officials] knew the situation,” McMillan said. “That if it was close, it had to go our way based on what transpired the play before.”

Essentially, McMillan is insinuating that the overturn of Murphy’s buzzer-beater was a make-up call because of the clock situation a few moments earlier.

He’s referring to Pop Isaacs’ missed free throw with just over two seconds remaining, with Auburn down 90-88, when Isaacs intentionally missed his second attempt in order to force the Tigers to shoot a full-court heave. The officials weren’t sure if the ball had hit the rim, so they whistled the ball dead after Auburn grabbed the rebound with less than a second remaining.

“They had no timeouts. So, that’s got to get corrected right there – just what happened with the clock. We thought there was no way for the clock to be stopped. With a review, or whether the clock went too early, which is what they were saying, that’s the only way for the game to be stopped. That’s the only way we were going to lose the game, pretty much, unless they were going to make a 75-footer.”

“I think [the officials] knew the situation — if it was close it had to go our way based on what had just transpired the play before.” Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan following Auburn’s overturned buzzer beater pic.twitter.com/MIW7kMwraI
— The Barn (@TheBarn_Auburn) January 7, 2026

If the ball doesn’t hit the rim on a free throw, the officials are supposed to blow it dead and award it to the other team. However, in this case, they weren’t sure if it did, so they stopped the game to review it.

Ultimately, the officials ruled that it hit the rim, and set the clock to .6 seconds, allowing Auburn to inbound it from the sideline and have an open look for the win.

“We have a better chance to win it right there with them having to catch it and shoot an 80-footer, the way it should have been, or if they could throw it in, have an opportunity to make a three, and then there’s overtime. It was going to be a tough win in overtime for us,” McMillan said.

So, to put it in simpler terms, McMillan essentially implied that the buzzer-beater overturn was a make-up call due to the stoppage of play after Isaacs’ missed free throw, which would’ve made Auburn have to make a near full-court shot to win the game.

It’s certainly a rare and odd occurrence to hear a head coach admit something was a make-up call, especially when it goes his team’s way, but nonetheless, Auburn now sits at 0-2 in conference play with losses to the Aggies and No. 23 Georgia.

The Tigers have a massive opportunity in front of them this weekend, as they host No. 15 Arkansas inside Neville Arena. Auburn would love to avoid a 0-3 start in the SEC, and even more, pick up a top-15 win against the Razorbacks.

Maybe the Texas A&M controversy will ignite a spark in the locker room, because Auburn will need anything it can get to take down John Calipari and a tough Arkansas squad.