Major upset for Auburn in March: Recapping everything Bruce Pearl said after Texas A&M stuns #1 ranked Tigers

Just like how Lance Taylor predicted, the Texas A&M handed Bruce Pearl's Auburn its third loss of the season on Tuesday with the 83-72 upset. The Aggies led the game from the first whistle, never allowing the Tigers to mount a comeback.

Pearl opened the post-game conference by citing the areas his team struggled throughout the contest.

"It's been a tough matchup for us, been a tough match-up for me," he said. "Buzz (Williams) does a great job ... things that they do bother us a little bit.

They do a great job of driving downhill, they do a great job one-on-one, attacking closeouts, they do a great job one-on-one in the post and they just physically dominated us."

While Bruce Pearl said that he sees Texas A&M as a potent offensive unit, he said that missing Denver Jones factored in on the loss as he was sidelined due to a soft tissue concern.

"We respect Texas A&M and Denver Jones, I feel he's the best defensive guard in our league and if you look last year A&M had 22 points at halftime at our place - Wade Taylor struggled to score," he said (at 1:22).

"Denver is the best one-on-one cover guy I got, so obviously missing Denver was a factor."

Bruce Pearl praised Wade Taylor IV and Andersson Garcia

Wade Taylor IV started off slow, scoring just three points in the first half, but led the Aggies with 16 points and three rebounds. Bruce Pearl reflected on what could potentially be his last matchup scheming against the guard.

"It's great, it's awesome the way he did it, had a great game tonight, and he's just a great, great player for A&M. I'll be glad to see him gone," he said (at 3:22). "Just like I'm sure ya'll glad to see some of my guys gone, but it's been an honor to compete against him."

The coach then made sure to praise Texas A&M forward Andersson Garcia, who scored 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

"Garcia 11 and 11 tonight, 11 and 11," he said (at 3:40). "Played hard, not many teams outplay us or outwork us, that's been a pretty consistent thing for us. Texas A&M clearly did tonight."

Bruce Pearl and Auburn will now return home to host rivals No. 7 Alabama in the last game of its season. It will be another tough contest after the Tigers defeated then-No. 2 Alabama 94-85 on Feb. 15.