Last night, the Auburn Tigers defeated the Texas A&M Aggies on a game-winning buzzer beater from KeShawn Murphy. Then, suddenly, they hadn't won.
The officials blew the ball dead and waved off the bucket, resulting in the Aggies holding onto their 90-88 lead and securing the win over the Tigers.
Players looked on in disbelief, fans expressed their shock and outrage, and Auburn head coach Steven Pearl just about blew a gasket.
KeShawn Murphy's shot his game winner with 0.1 seconds left
In a slow-mo video of Murphy's buzzer-beater attempt, it is only more obvious that the Tigers got screwed by the refs, and that the shot, undeniably, should have counted for the win.
Watch the clock and the time it leaves his hand. Does not get much closer to this. I think Auburn may have gotten hosed https://t.co/Ae2nWx6TKj pic.twitter.com/WYhqJayHwL
— Josh Teeter (@joshteeter01) January 7, 2026
There! Right there! The game clock had 0.1 seconds left on it when Murphy let go of the ball!
Murphy's shot should have counted, the Tigers should have won, and the Aggies should have been sent home with a loss in their back pockets.
Of course, after the game, Pearl and his staff immediately reached out to the SEC's league office to contest and protest the call on the court. A regular-season loss to a conference opponent isn't the end of the world, but referees completely missing the correct call could be.
Per AU Athletics, Steven Pearl’s postgame press conference is delayed because the Tigers are on the phone with the SEC league office. Presumably protesting the end of the ballgame. @abc3340
— Johnny Congdon (@congdonsation) January 7, 2026
With the loss, Auburn dropped to 0-2 against SEC opponents, and the Aggies rose to 2-0 in conference play. It's inexplicable how different things would look if the shot had been called correctly.
The Tigers will host the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks next, in what could be a season-correcting game for Auburn. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 10, and will be broadcast on ESPN.