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Auburn basketball accomplished many goals this season. However, their ultimate target of winning the NCAA Tournament came to an end Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas when SEC rival Florida erased a second-half deficit to beat the Tigers, 79-73.
After both teams played within one possession of each other for most of the first half, Auburn took a 46-38 lead into the locker room. The Gators then went on a 9-3 run over the first 3:20 of the second half to tie the game at 49-49. Florida's Thomas Haugh nailed a layup with 6:31 to go in the game to give the Gators a 64-63 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.
Following the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl met with the media to discuss the factors that led to Florida's second-half comeback, the role that Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. had in the game, and much more.
Here is everything Pearl said after Auburn's tough Final Four loss to the Florida Gators.
"I want to start off by congratulating Florida on their victory. Wish them luck in the championship game. I'm really proud of my team, how these guys made history, the best basketball team in the history of Auburn basketball. They gave us a ride that won't ever be forgotten. They did so many great things both on and off the court that I'm extremely proud of. Played beautiful basketball in the first half. We were prepared. We had a great game plan. They executed it really well. We only turned the ball over twice. Second half, Florida's effort and energy, the fact that we're not as deep as what we normally are, was a factor. I thought fatigue was a factor. As a result, we weren't able to maintain control of the game, which I think if we had taken care of the basketball a little bit, not turned it over, not given them easy ones, we could have been in position to win the basketball game."
"We got down to seven guys. That's not enough. We just did not have enough help off the bench. I think to take a little heat off of Johni, we scored great in the first half with our two-point baskets. We went through him, and he did great. I don't know whether we got away from it a little bit, but we only had a handful of two-point baskets in the second half. I'm going to give Florida credit defensively for stepping up. I just think that passing and catching and fighting for your real estate, getting your spots, not letting 'em push you out of position, I think that's why we didn't execute."
"Well, he's a great player. He can go both ways. He can make tough shots. About the only thing, again, I probably should have done more is trap the ball out of his hands a little bit. Believe it or not, that was part of our game plan, but we just didn't execute it. Like just sort of you say all things are kind of equal. Clayton was the difference. He was just flat out the difference. We couldn't contain him down that end. Again, I take responsibility for 12 turnovers in the second half. It's just impossible to either explain or to think that you can win turning the ball over a little bit. We got a little out of sorts offensively. Guys just did not execute offensively what our game plan was like they did in the first half."
"Yeah, we knew they'd come out aggressively. I was hoping that our starters would be able to withstand. I did not call timeout in the first four minutes. I was trying to get to the TV timeout. We got to it. Obviously those starters, my top-five players, all seniors, I just think, again, we came out offensively and we didn't run some of the things that we had talked about running the way we talked about running 'em. So just 12 turnovers, bad execution, bad decision-making, bad passing, catching. Took a lot of shots that we did not want to take."
"We just did not execute offensively in the second half. We just didn't. I give Florida credit for the defense. But there were certain things, certain reads, certain looks that we made in the first half, chose to not make them in the second half."
"Well, they did a great job of extending his catches. They recognized what a dangerous shooter Miles is. So not banging down some of those shots... He got a couple in the first half. Again, we scored 48 points in the first half, right? 46. We just had a great rhythm. We got everything we wanted. But we had to work for it. I just thought we stopped working offensively the way they're coached."
"I haven't talked to him yet. He's been sensational all season long. I know that he's going to be disappointed because he wasn't elite tonight like he's always been. Give, again, Florida credit. There's real size in their backcourt, real size in their front court. Again, if he had a better coach, he'd have gotten cleaner looks, and he would have been had a few more open shots. That probably would have helped him play a little better. If there are five of the top freshmen in college basketball this year, Tahaad Pettiford is absolutely one of them. I'm so incredibly proud of him. I know his teammates are. I trust him."
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn's Bruce Pearl breaks down Final Four loss to Florida
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After both teams played within one possession of each other for most of the first half, Auburn took a 46-38 lead into the locker room. The Gators then went on a 9-3 run over the first 3:20 of the second half to tie the game at 49-49. Florida's Thomas Haugh nailed a layup with 6:31 to go in the game to give the Gators a 64-63 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.
Following the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl met with the media to discuss the factors that led to Florida's second-half comeback, the role that Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. had in the game, and much more.
Here is everything Pearl said after Auburn's tough Final Four loss to the Florida Gators.
Opening statement
"I want to start off by congratulating Florida on their victory. Wish them luck in the championship game. I'm really proud of my team, how these guys made history, the best basketball team in the history of Auburn basketball. They gave us a ride that won't ever be forgotten. They did so many great things both on and off the court that I'm extremely proud of. Played beautiful basketball in the first half. We were prepared. We had a great game plan. They executed it really well. We only turned the ball over twice. Second half, Florida's effort and energy, the fact that we're not as deep as what we normally are, was a factor. I thought fatigue was a factor. As a result, we weren't able to maintain control of the game, which I think if we had taken care of the basketball a little bit, not turned it over, not given them easy ones, we could have been in position to win the basketball game."
Issues with depth
"We got down to seven guys. That's not enough. We just did not have enough help off the bench. I think to take a little heat off of Johni, we scored great in the first half with our two-point baskets. We went through him, and he did great. I don't know whether we got away from it a little bit, but we only had a handful of two-point baskets in the second half. I'm going to give Florida credit defensively for stepping up. I just think that passing and catching and fighting for your real estate, getting your spots, not letting 'em push you out of position, I think that's why we didn't execute."
The role that Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. had on the game
"Well, he's a great player. He can go both ways. He can make tough shots. About the only thing, again, I probably should have done more is trap the ball out of his hands a little bit. Believe it or not, that was part of our game plan, but we just didn't execute it. Like just sort of you say all things are kind of equal. Clayton was the difference. He was just flat out the difference. We couldn't contain him down that end. Again, I take responsibility for 12 turnovers in the second half. It's just impossible to either explain or to think that you can win turning the ball over a little bit. We got a little out of sorts offensively. Guys just did not execute offensively what our game plan was like they did in the first half."
How Florida won the game in the second half
"Yeah, we knew they'd come out aggressively. I was hoping that our starters would be able to withstand. I did not call timeout in the first four minutes. I was trying to get to the TV timeout. We got to it. Obviously those starters, my top-five players, all seniors, I just think, again, we came out offensively and we didn't run some of the things that we had talked about running the way we talked about running 'em. So just 12 turnovers, bad execution, bad decision-making, bad passing, catching. Took a lot of shots that we did not want to take."
Second half shot selection
"We just did not execute offensively in the second half. We just didn't. I give Florida credit for the defense. But there were certain things, certain reads, certain looks that we made in the first half, chose to not make them in the second half."
Florida defending Miles Kelly
"Well, they did a great job of extending his catches. They recognized what a dangerous shooter Miles is. So not banging down some of those shots... He got a couple in the first half. Again, we scored 48 points in the first half, right? 46. We just had a great rhythm. We got everything we wanted. But we had to work for it. I just thought we stopped working offensively the way they're coached."
What Pearl plans to say to Tahaad Pettiford
"I haven't talked to him yet. He's been sensational all season long. I know that he's going to be disappointed because he wasn't elite tonight like he's always been. Give, again, Florida credit. There's real size in their backcourt, real size in their front court. Again, if he had a better coach, he'd have gotten cleaner looks, and he would have been had a few more open shots. That probably would have helped him play a little better. If there are five of the top freshmen in college basketball this year, Tahaad Pettiford is absolutely one of them. I'm so incredibly proud of him. I know his teammates are. I trust him."
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn's Bruce Pearl breaks down Final Four loss to Florida
Continue reading...
