The Auburn Tigers were left for dead heading into SEC play after a trio of blowout losses in non-conference play that seemed to suggest AU was no longer a postseason team under first-year head coach Steven Pearl. A102-72 lashing at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines, a 97-68 rout to the Arizona Wildcats, and an 88-60 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers were supposed to be death knells for this program. So was Emeka Opurum's season-ending injury.
Nope. Following an 88-82 win over the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday night, Auburn has the third-best conference record in the SEC. Better yet, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein believes the Tigers have earned an impressive resume from a pair of non-conference wins over the St. John's Red Storm and NC State Wolfpack and SEC wins over John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks and the defending champion Florida Gators.
"Steven Pearl has shown major chops for a young head coach over the past few weeks," Rothstein prefaced before saying, "And Auburn has several wins --- At Florida, St. John's (neutral), NC State and Arkansas --- that are going to age nicely between now and Selection Sunday.
"The Tigers have a resume."
Rothstein added, "This is the most balanced I've ever seen the SEC. No dominant team at the top of the league. For years, it was Kentucky, Florida, and then everyone else. Not anymore."
Steven Pearl proving he's no 'nepo hire' for Auburn
Everyone was a little worried at the level of blowout this team suffered at the beginning of the season. Steven's tone on the team also had some questioning if he had the chops to turn this thing around.
Well, he has and then some. Keyshawn Hall has emerged as a star on the wing, while Kevin Overton and KeShawn Murphy have become consistent deep threats. If/when Tahaad Pettiford gets in a groove, this team could be unstoppable. Maybe it'll happen at the right time this March.
While taking over for his father, Bruce, could've been disastrous, Steven has proven he was the motivator of the team these past few years as his father's attention shifted to the political realm.
"Nepo hire" he is not. He's getting more out of this team than anyone could've thought. We'll see how much more he's able to prove during the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season and the SEC Tournament in Nashville this March.