"They physically manhandled us": Auburn HC Bruce Pearl has unfiltered response as Tigers face upset vs. Texas A&M

Bruce Pearl's team's six-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday after falling to a defeat at the hands of the No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies, 83-72. The Auburn Tigers lost both halves of the game 40-34, 43-38, crowning their poor performance on the road.

Auburn's star player, Johni Broome, had a quiet game and temporarily left the contest with a shoulder issue. He scored just eight points, two assists and seven rebounds, his second consecutive game with less than 10 points. He was outperformed by his teammate Tahaad Pettiford, who had 19 points in the game.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, in his postgame press conference, lamented that his team was dominated physically in the encounter.

"They physically manhandled us," Pearl said. "And if this team is going to continue to win, we're going to run up against teams like Texas A&M or like Florida or like Duke that are big and physical,"

"We have no excuses to allow those guys to get 24 offensive rebounds," Pearl said. "I give Texas A&M all the credit. Our guys were physically dominated. So, no, I don't excuse our guys at all. We're better than that, but not tonight," as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Despite Auburn's (27-3, 15-2 SEC) third loss of the season, they maintain the top position in the Southeastern Conference standings and remain number one in the 2025 AP rankings. The Texas A&M Aggies (21-9, 10-7), on the other hand, maintained their sixth position and 22nd place in the AP rankings.

Bruce Pearl laments lack of urgency in loss

Auburn vs. Texas A&M - Source: Getty

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl expressed his disappointment after his team's loss, questioning whether his players would have shown more determination if the game had conference championship implications.

“It’s human nature now,” the longtime coach said after the loss, per Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson. “This game did not have implications as far as a conference championship. If it did, would the guys have put their bodies on the line a little bit more? I hope so,” as reported by Yardbarker.

Auburn will end its regular season against No. 7 Alabama (23-6, 12-4) on Saturday, while Texas A&M travels to face LSU before the teams head to Nashville for the conference tournament next week.