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Auburn

Steven Pearl chases down official following controversial no-call on game-winning attempt vs. Houston

Untitled design (2)by: Sam Gillenwater11/16/25samdg_33
Auburn HC Steven Pearl
David Leong | Imagn Images

At the end of what was obviously a contentious, physical game between Top-25 opponents, No. 22 Auburn got three shots at a potential game-winner, down one with less than thirty seconds left, against No. 1 Houston. The last one, though, was incredibly controversial to the Tigers’ bench, with Steven Pearl getting after an official following the final buzzer in Birmingham.

With a second left, Auburn threw a lob up to KeShawn Murphy from a side-out pass to try to tap one in as time expired, but he missed as he was defended on his cut by Kingston Flemmings and on the attempt by Milos Uzan. No call was made, and, with that, Pearl was quickly to the other side of the floor to yell at one of the officials as he pointed to the floor at Murphy.

Pearl was not asked about the reaction during his postgame press conference after the 73-72 loss to the Cougars inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham. But, despite the possible no-calls on their last three possessions in the 23 seconds left, though, he liked the offense that his team was able to run. He thought the Tigers got good looks and the looks that they’d want, but were, for one reason or another, unable to finish to get a one-point win for themselves instead.

“Yeah, I mean, I thought Tahaad did a really good job of splitting the ball screen and getting downhill. And, all we talked about in practice and in our teaching points was to play off two feet, he plays off two feet, he shot fakes, right, they jump, and then you decrease the space and create contact, and that’s exactly what he did, right. So, he was locked in to what we were trying to tell him to do, so I’m really happy with that look. And then, at the very end, you know, I thought we had to draw a side-out (out of bounds play) to get (Murphy) a look late. Gets his hands on the ball, and gets a shot up,” Pearl recalled. “So, I thought the execution was really good late in the game where, you know, with eight seconds, we’re able to get all the way downhill to the rim, right, play off two feet, shot fake him in the air like we talked about all week, right, and create contact. And then, with one second left, to be able to get our hands on the ball to have an opportunity to make a shot? I thought our guys did a really good job of executing in a difficult situation.”

Again, this was a heated matchup, both in how physically it was played and how close it was throughout, between ranked teams, with the neutral-site crowd leaning toward the Tigers as well. Pearl also may have felt he had a different angle to see what happened on the play, being on the opposite sideline up near halfcourt as it unfolded and, ultimately, didn’t go the way of his team. Still, chasing after a referee postgame, regardless of the call made or not, and even if it’s in the defense of his players, isn’t necessarily the best look for the brand-new coach of the Tigers.