“Damn these refs are 100% for Auburn”: College hoops fans enraged with officiating as Bruce Pearl’s team dominates in Final Four vs Florida

Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers got off to a strong start against the Florida Gators in their Final Four showdown at the Alamodome on Saturday night. The Tigers grabbed a 46-38 lead at the halftime break.

Some college hoops fans were enraged, however, with the officiating in the first half, venting their frustrations on X (formerly Twitter). They called out the referees for being pro-Auburn in the national semifinals.

"Damn these refs are 100% for Auburn. How much did Bruce Pearl pay them?," one fan asked.

"Refs allowing Auburn to mug Florida," one fan commented.

"Make the bet for Auburn to win the refs are gonna make sure they do what a waste of my Saturday evening trying to watch a basketball game," one fan chimed in.

Here are some other reactions.

"Insane Auburn-bias from these refs in the 1st half. Broome getting away with so many hacks and elbows. Last play #13 was camped out in the key for a solid 8-10 seconds with a ref under the basket staring right at him..and no tech call when a guy got tea bagged on the floor," one fan pointed out.

"The refs have Auburn cause why they ain’t call a foul on the Clayton Jr driving lay up he definitely got hacked, and why they just call a foul after they saw that Auburn missed the shot," one fan wrote.

"The refs want Auburn to win," one fan commented.

Johni Broome delivers for Auburn in the first half of Final Four clash with Florida

Johni Broome led the scoring for the Auburn Tigers in the first half, dropping 12 points in 16 minutes of action. He shot 5-for-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. He also had four rebounds.

Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) drives to the basket against Florida Gators center Rueben Chinyelu (9) during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Photo: Imagn

Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly each scored eight points for the Tigers, who are looking to advance to the national championship game for the first time in program history. Denver Jones added five points in the first half.