Quotes of Note: Steven Pearl takes in Auburn’s win over Southeastern Louisiana
For the Auburn Tigers, the start to the 2026-2027 college basketball season was nearly all peaceful, but at the end of the night, all that mattered to them was the win going into their record.
The Tigers took down the Southeastern Louisiana Lions to tip off the new year and the second season of the Steven Pearl era, cruising with 50 points in the second half and stout play from a number of players on the roster.
This season opener ws much calmer than it was a year ago for Pearl, as Auburn had to go to overtime to take down Bethune-Cookman at Neville Arena.
Now, the head coach gets to reflect on a much calmer win, but still one that comes with many areas that need improvement.
Pearl spoke to the media after the win in his postgame presser. Here are some of his most notable quotes from the session.
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On the performance from his bench players:
“I thought our bench did a really good job tonight of coming in and giving us really quality minutes. That's the bright spot of the game tonight. Bukky, Owen, George, Adam and Kolby really came in and gave us really positive minutes. I thought George and Kolby's activity on the defensive end was really disruptive and allowed us to really get out. Those guys had four steals in the second half and did a lot of good things.”
On the return of Owen Freeman to the court:
“Was more just happy for him, the young man, because he's such a great kid, such a great kid. I just enjoy being around him every day. He wants to win. He wants to get better. He wants to do the right thing for his teammates and those are the types of guys that you can roll with. And just happy that he had a little bit of success tonight.”
On what Auburn’s big men need to do going forward:
“I complimented them after the Alabama game, and they laid a dud in the Samford game. So, just because I complimented them after Southeastern Louisiana, they gotta go stack a performance against a big Appalachian State team. They got real size, and we gotta be able to physically go out there and compete at a high level, which is what the expectation is going to be for those guys every game.”
On how big a factor the depth was:
“I thought it was the difference in the game, our bench coming in and having a positive impact on the gamel; Kolby being plus-24, Adam being plus-11, Owen being plus-11. I thought those guys gave us a really good lift and a really good boost as the game went on.”
On the rim protection limiting opponent shooting percentage:
“To have room protection, that obviously allows us to clean some of that up. It's an area that we've got to continue to build on, because as the year goes on, we're going to be playing some really good offenses. In order for us to defend at a high level, we need those guys on that back line to block shots for us.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
