Charles Barkley makes his feelings known on Auburn’s performance vs Florida in the Final Four

The Auburn Tigers, coached by Bruce Pearl, just dealt with a disappointing end to their 2024-2025 campaign. Despite being touted throughout the season to be one of the favorites to win the 2025 national title, they saw their year come to an end at the hands of the Florida Gators by six points, 79-73, on Saturday, April 5, during their NCAA Final Four matchup.

It was disheartening for the Auburn faithful to see their run in this year's March Madness come to a close with a defeat from their SEC rival. Early on, though, it looked like the Tigers were primed to defeat the Gators, as detailed by NBA legend Charles Barkley.

During the halftime broadcast of the hotly contested fixture, Barkley, who is hailed as one of the best Auburn products of all time, had all the praise for how his alma mater fared in the first half despite their shaky start.

"I hated the first five minute of the game; man, we don’t want to play at that pace. I said coming in that if the (score) was 70-75, Auburn’s going to win this game. If it goes above that, I think we’re going to struggle. But that was a perfect first half of basketball," Barkley explained.

He then gave his two cents on what the Tigers will need to do moving forward in the second half.

"They’re not doubling Broome, so he’s going to have to dominate in the paint. We’re up a lot in the paint. Give Florida credit; that’s their game plan. They’re trying not to let our 3-point shooters get started. I do think at some point we’re going to have to make some 3s. But right now, we’re taking what they’re giving us and Johni is punishing them down low," Barkley was quoted as saying.

Unfortunately for the 1993 NBA regular season MVP, the Tigers succumbed to a season end, finishing with an overall record of 32-6, 15-3 during conference play, as they won the conference regular season championship earlier in the year.

Charles Barkley was seen stressed out during the second half of the Auburn Tigers' 2025 Final Four game

During the second period of the Auburn Tigers' Final Four fixture, Charles Barkley was seen to have had a rollercoaster emotions during its dying minutes. This is because it quickly became a back-and-forth affair, as the Florida Gators found their footing and eventually got the lead from the Tigers.

The Gators' Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers by posting his second straight 30-point outing with 34 markers on an efficient 11-of-18 clip, four rebounds and two assists, while Auburn was paced by Chad Baker-Mazara, who dropped 18 points on 6-for-10 overall shooting, a board, two dimes, four steals and a block.