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Steven Pearl calls out Auburn players for lack of defensive identity

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs01/06/26grant_grubbs_

On Saturday, Auburn suffered its third loss in five games, falling 104-100 to Georgia in overtime. After the game, first-year Auburn head coach Steven Pearl criticized his team for their lack of a defensive identity.

“My biggest challenge to our guys is that we have to have more of an identity in our one-on-one defense because I can sit here and scheme and talk about different coverages,” Pearl said. “But, at the end of the day, we did a lot of switching and ran a lot of zone. All they did was get the ball into a guard’s hand and attack us one-on-one. We just weren’t able to keep them in front. 

“I’m always going to figure out what I can do better. But my team’s got to do a better job of finding out their identity defensively and taking some accountability in their one-on-one defense because I can’t go out there and guard for them.”

Georgia’s 104 points are the most any team has scored against Auburn this season. The Bulldogs shot 52% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc in the win.

Georgia’s Jeremiah Wilkinson was particularly dominant. The sophomore guard erupted for a game-high 31 points on 4-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Wilkinson was far the only standout for the Bulldogs. Four of the team’s starters scored double figures. Moreover, Georgia’s Marcus Millender tallied 24 points off the bench, while connecting on 7-of-his-10 attempts from the floor.

Auburn is allowing 78.7 points per game this season, ranking No. 307 in all of college basketball. With a difficult conference schedule ahead, Steven Pearl knows his team must quickly find its defensive footing.

“Our one-on-one defense is terrible,” Pearl said. “We continually work on it — and let guys drive right around us. At some point we’ve got to have an identity.

“I’m always going to look within first and figure out what I can do better to help us on the defensive side. (But) at some point, our guys have to have a level of pride that they’re not going to let their guys continually line them up and drive right around them.”

With the loss on Saturday, Auburn fell to 9-5 this season and 0-1 in conference play. On Tuesday, the Tigers will look to bounce back from their loss as they square off against Texas A&M at 8 p.m. CT. The game will air live on the SEC Network.