Steven Pearl addresses Auburn fans after season-opening OT win: 'We're going to get our asses to work'

Auburn avoided a season-opening upset bid against Bethune-Cookman on Monday, defeating the Wildcats 95-90 in overtime. After the close win, new head coach Steven Pearl sent a strong message to Auburn’s fanbase.

“I know Auburn fans are tired of being told to be patient,” Pearl said. “So we’re going to get our asses to work.”

Auburn’s largest lead of the night was six, and neither team could find a way to separate themselves down the stretch. The Tigers appeared to have the win in-hand during regulation, but a foul on Arterio Morris’ half-court heave at the buzzer allowed Bethune-Cookman to force overtime. While the game was too close for comfort, the Tigers squeezed past the Wildcats by five points during the extra period.

Bethune-Cookman led Auburn 75-73 with less than 90 seconds left in regulation, and the typically raucous crowd inside Neville Arena were on the verge of being stunned into silence. The Tigers are coming off a run to the Final Four and are expected to be at the forefront of the national conversation once again this season.

However, Steven’s father, Bruce Pearl’s abrupt retirement has forced new beginnings on the Auburn men’s basketball program. Since the Tigers were able to retain its roster so close to the season’s start, Auburn’s expectations have largely remained the same under its new leadership.

Auburn is still chasing its first national championship despite making two Final Fours over the past decade. Steven Pearl has been tasked with taking the Tigers all the way, and isn’t shying away from the task at hand.

For the Auburn fanbase, however, the heart-wrenching overtime affair didn’t exactly have the best timing given all that’s been happening with its football program this season. The Tigers fired former head coach Hugh Freeze in his third season after beginning the season 4-5. He finished his tenure 15-19 and never won more than six games in a single season.

Now, both seasons will overlap, at least for the several weeks. Coming up, Auburn football plays the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road during Week 11 with matchups against Mercer and Alabama (both at home) on the docket to round out the season.

For Steven Pearl’s men’s basketball squad, they will host Merrimack on Thursday and Wofford next Tuesday. Auburn will have ranked matchups against No. 2 Houston and No. 7 Michigan in neutral site matchups before the end of November.