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Bruce Pearl points to key stat in Auburn’s season-ending loss to Florida
By Mark Kern
Published:
Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers saw their magical 2024-25 season come to an end on Saturday night, as they lost 79-73 to the Florida Gators in the Final Four. The Tigers got off to a hot start in the first half, pouring in 46 points to take an 8-point lead into the half.
However, the offense got stagnant in the second half of the game, and the team could muster up only 27 points. The team struggled to shoot the ball, but turnovers were also an issue.
After the game, Pearl lamented the turnovers and talked about the squandered opportunities his team had.
“We played beautiful basketball in the first half,” Pearl said. “We were prepared, we had a great game-plan and they executed really well and only turned the ball over twice. We weren’t able to maintain control of the game. If we had taken care of the basketball a little bit, not turned it over and given them so many easy ones, we could’ve been in position to win the basketball game.”
Pearl said that depth also played an issue in the second half, with the team not quite as deep as it usually is. Neither team went extremely deep into their bench, and the Gators actually turned the ball over 2 more times than Auburn.
This is the type of loss that stays with a team for quite some time, but this was a historic season for Pearl and the Auburn team. The Tigers went to the Final Four for only the 2nd time in program history, with the other being in 2019.
