Paul Finebaum explains why he isn't too disappointed with Auburn's NCAA Tournament loss

Auburn didn’t go on as deep of a run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament as they would have liked, but SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum isn’t too disappointed in what he saw this season from Bruce Pearl’s squad.

Auburn entered the tournament as the 9-seed in the Midwest Region, and defeated 8-seed Iowa 83-75 in the Round of 64. The Tigers then matched up with the region’s top seed, Houston, in the Round of 32. Auburn played exceptionally well in the first half, carrying a 41-31 lead into halftime. But after Houston outscored Auburn 50-23 in the second half, the Tigers saw their season come to an end.

The disappointing end to the NCAA Tournament doesn’t take anything away from Auburn and the program’s direction under Pearl, though, at least not in Finebaum’s eyes.

“It was a rollercoaster ride,” Finebaum said of Auburn’s season on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “But ultimately, I don’t think anybody on the Auburn side can walk away overly disappointed. I mean the fact that they led the other co-favorite with Alabama (Houston) by ten points when the second half began is really a testament to what they’re capable of. It was almost unwatchable in the second half, but Bruce Pearl has done a phenomenal job.

“We’ll keep talking about the Final Four because there’s a lot to talk about there, but that’s not the only thing he’s done. He’s resurrected that program to the point where it’s a name brand, sellout crowds, and I don’t think anything that happened in the final few minutes of that game is going to take away from that.”

Even after entering a double digit lead into halftime, Auburn had no answer for Houston’s stifling defense in the second half. The Cougars have one of the best defensive teams in college basketball, and they came out in dominating fashion in the final stretch.

Auburn finishes the season with 21-13 overall record. The Tigers had a 10-8 record during regular season SEC play.

Despite not reaching the Sweet 16, this season is further proof of Auburn’s growth as a program under Pearl’s guidance. Pearl took over before the 2014-2015 season, and Auburn missed out on the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons.

In the 2017-2018 season, Auburn took a major step forward, going 26-8 and winning the regular season SEC title. The Tigers lost in the Round of 32 as a 4-seed that year, and then went on to win the SEC Tournament during the 2018-2019 season before losing in the Final Four.

Auburn was 25-6 before COVID-19 shut things down in the 2019-2020 season, and the Tigers then struggled in 2020-2021 with a 13-14 record. But Pearl has again turned the ship around. Last season, Auburn again won the SEC regular season title and lost in the second round.

Overall, Pearl is 187-111 as Auburn’s head coach. He certainly has things moving in the right direction, and the Tigers seem to be on the cusp of becoming a consistent threat to go on a deep run each and every March.