Following Auburn’s 91-79 loss at Oklahoma on Tuesday, a bewildering loss in a season that has had a few, Steven Pearl didn’t hold back how he felt about his team’s performance.
“We were entitled tonight,” the first-year head coach said. “We were selfish tonight on the defensive end. And we had no urgency. And that’s unacceptable. So I got to change up how I’m coaching these guys. I got to ratchet up my intensity a little bit more, and maybe they’ll start to play like I act.”
Ratchet it up as much as he can, because Pearl has a point about his team. No one outside of Tahaad Pettiford (and a couple of reserves like Blake Muschalek) has earned the right to be pompous and arrogant about wearing the Auburn jersey. What the Tigers have achieved in the past has nothing to do with this team. If they want to build on the legacy that Bruce Pearl and his players brought to the program, great. But putting a no-show performance in front of a lousy road crowd against a mediocre Sooners’ team, no matter how hot they shot, was about as disappointing as Auburn’s last five football seasons.
If this year’s team thinks that opponents are going to be intimidated by the Auburn name because of last year and the number of titles the older Pearl won during his tenure, they should think differently. Right now, this team is as intimidating as a 10-week-old golden Labrador puppy. They have a lot of yips in them, but very little bite.
Auburn's season is on the brink of being a failure
With three games to go, Auburn needs somewhat of a prayer to salvage the season to make the NCAA Tournament, and even then, a long run in this year’s March Madness looks as unlikely as possible. There has been no consistency, no fight in this team game by game to believe they can put together a run, even if Pearl ratchets the intensity to 11.
The 38-year-old Pearl and his team were put in a bad spot by the timing of his father’s resignation, but that was six months ago and almost a full season for this team to gel and find its why.
Unfortunately, it is probably too late, as this ship is on the verge of capsizing into a NIT bid.