Auburn took a tough one on the chin. After losing to No. 9 Duke and No. 6 Florida, the Tigers just picked up their third loss of the season—this time, by double digits, 83-72. And it came at the hands of a team outside the top 10 for the first time all year. Sitting pretty at home, holding onto their regular-season title, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers probably wasn’t expecting No. 22 Texas A&M to roll in and shake things up. But the Aggies had other plans.
Texas A&M came in hungry, knowing a win could boost their NCAA Tournament seeding. And, they did come out swinging—jumping to a 7-0 lead and never trailing. Auburn had their moments, cutting the deficit to a single possession, but the Aggies held firm and sent them packing.
Now, statistically, Auburn actually out-shot Texas A&M—50% from the field to A&M’s 43.1% and 40.9% from three to their 36%. But the Aggies absolutely dominated the boards (41-25) and crushed Auburn in offensive rebounds (24-9). Add in 18 points off turnovers, and that’s how you steal a win.
Postgame, coach Pearl had thoughts. “There’s no excuse to give up that many offensive rebounds. I give Texas A&M all the credit… But we’re better than that. Not tonight.”
Auburn HC Bruce Pearl: “There’s no excuse to give up that many offensive rebounds. I give Texas A&M all the credit… But we’re better than that. Not tonight.”
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) March 5, 2025
Sounds like a backhanded compliment, huh? Like, yes, you won, but we’re still better. Maybe Pearl knows this loss is unlikely to shake up Auburn’s seeding. Or maybe it’s just tough to give full props when you weren’t expecting to take an L.
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