Auburn senior blasts Tigers over embarrassing effort in Round 1 March Madness win

The Auburn Tigers may have taken care of business on Thursday to open up their NCAA Tournament, but let's be real - the team did not play the way they were supposed to. The Tigers are the No. 1 overall seed, but they were still far too inconsistent and didn't execute like they normally do.

This is something Auburn senior big man Dylan Cardwell noticed and it's something he's not going to tolerate moving forward. After the final whistle, Cardwell didn't hesitate in blasting his teammates for the effort that was showcased. If that same effort continues, per Cardwell, then Auburn may be heading home much much sooner than anyone wants them to.

Auburn big man Dylan Cardwell ripped the Tigers after the NCAA Tourney win over Alabama State

“We have to be better. We have to play on fire, we have to play pissed off. It’s frustrating to see that we aren’t playing pissed off. If we play like we did today, we are going to get beat. I’m upset. I’m upset,” Cardwell said via Auburn Live.

It's easy to agree with Cardwell here. Auburn was basically going through the motions against Alabama State and they looked nothing like the No. 1 team in the country seeding wise. What is going on with these guys?

Prior to the Big Dance arriving, Alabama had lost three of four games. Were those results not enough for everyone to play 'pissed off' the way Cardwell was hoping they would? Something needs to happen for these players to snap out of things.

On paper, Auburn has all the tools to push for a national title. This group is led by Johni Broome, arguably the best player in college hoops. He can't do everything on his own, however. We need to see an inspired performance from the Tigers on Saturday against Creighton.