Bruce Pearl Sounds the Alarm After Sloppy Auburn Win—Will Costly Mistakes Doom the Tigers?
Auburn may have steamrolled Alabama State with an 83-63 victory, but Bruce Pearl wasn’t celebrating. Instead, he was fuming. Missed free throws, careless turnovers, and questionable shot selection had the Auburn head coach seeing red. With a battle-tested Creighton squad looming, Pearl made one thing clear: this kind of performance won’t cut it in March.
“That’s Going to Catch Us in a Close Game”
Despite the 20-point win, Pearl had no illusions about his team’s shortcomings. “We missed, again, we missed 14 free throws. We made 18, and that’s going to catch us in a close game,” he warned postgame. Auburn’s 56.3% free throw shooting (18-32) barely edged out Alabama State’s 57.9% (11-19)—an alarming stat against a much weaker opponent.
And it wasn’t just the freebies. Auburn turned the ball over 12 times, gifting Alabama State 14 points off those mistakes. They also fired off a staggering 35 three-pointers, but only sank 31.4% of them. “You can do that against a team that you’re better than, but we won’t be able to do that from this point forward,” Pearl cautioned.
Creighton Won’t Make It Easy
Pearl isn’t underestimating Creighton, a team making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. “Creighton is still a very veteran team that they’ve been through it. They’re not going to beat themselves,” he said. The Bluejays are built for the postseason, ranking 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio and 7th in three-point efficiency (34.2%).
Auburn thrives on relentless rebounding and defensive pressure, ranking 2nd in blocks per game (4.6) and grabbing 34.7 rebounds per game (41st nationally). But Creighton counters with precision, boasting a 47.7% field goal percentage (44th nationally) and an offense that punishes defensive lapses.
Broome vs. Kalkbrenner: A Heavyweight Battle in the Paint
One of the game’s biggest matchups? Johni Broome vs. Ryan Kalkbrenner. Auburn’s dominant big man will go head-to-head with Creighton’s elite rim protector. Broome has been a force in the paint, but Kalkbrenner’s shot-blocking and efficiency will push him to his limits.
Auburn has the firepower to overwhelm Creighton—but only if they clean up their mistakes. If they repeat their first-round miscues, the Bluejays won’t hesitate to send them packing. Will the Tigers sharpen up in time, or is an early exit looming?
