The battle between the mentor and mentee is over. The overall number 1 seed has been humbled. The Florida Gators will be dancing ahead to what will be their first championship game since 2007. The star of the show? Walton Clayton Jr! “He’s such a unique player, because most of the time, you think it’s a bad shot, and it’s a good shot with him, because he can make it if he can just see the rim,” Auburn associate head coach Steven Pearl said Friday. “Our guys really got to be locked in, got to stay in a stance for 40 minutes, can’t get hit on screens, got to communicate our actions, and we’ve just got to make his life a little more difficult.” Bruce Pearl set out with a clear plan to contain the guard, but as is the case with great players, you can only contain them for so long. In the end, he found a way to hoop!
Clayton became the first player with consecutive 30-point games in the Elite Eight and semifinals since Larry Bird for Indiana State in 1979 as he helped the Gators take another dub over their SEC rivals. Bruce Pearl will be heading home wondering if this was really his last best chance to deliver the championship to Auburn. But the fans and analysts? They aren’t so considerate!
Charles Barkley was one of the first guys to blame the Auburn head coach for tonight’s loss as one fan highlights. “Now Charles Barkley is throwing Bruce Pearl under the bus for Auburn’s few fast break points. They can both go home. #auburnvsflorida,” commented the fan. But they weren’t the only one blaming Pearl.
Now Charles Barkley is throwing Bruce Pearl under the bus for Auburn’s few fast break points.
They can both go home.#auburnvsflorida
— TB (@SenrabG) April 6, 2025
(This is a developing news…)
The post Bruce Pearl Thrown Under the Bus as Walter Clayton Jr. Turns Auburn HC Into NCAA’s Laughing Stock appeared first on EssentiallySports.
