With the clock reading under two minutes on Tuesday night, Auburn head coach Steven Pearl was slapped with a technical foul. Vanderbilt had just made a three-pointer, extending the lead to nine. Pearl then gave the Commodores two more from the free-throw line, which were both made, virtually putting the nail in the coffin for Auburn.
Afterward, Pearl was asked what happened in order to receive the technical. He explained the entire situation, which appears to boil down to what was said by Pearl to an official. The technical foul was called because Pearl allegedly swore, something he says did not happen.
“I said, ‘That was a big call,'” Pearl said postgame. “Because of the pressure when they called the foul on (Tyler) Tanner, he had already passed the ball. So, there was no disadvantage to the contact that we had on the trap. I thought since he got off of it, I didn’t think the call needed to happen. Usually, they call those if there’s an advantage for the defense, if that makes sense. I though, since he got rid of it, I didn’t think he needed to call that in that moment.
“As he’s running down, I said, ‘That was a big call’ and he T’d me up. He said I couldn’t cuss at him. I was mic’d up tonight, so maybe I need to check the feed. I asked my bench ‘Did I cuss at him?’ And they said no. I’ve tried to pride myself in not really getting after the officials, I just slap the video board to try to take my frustration out on something. Didn’t curse at him.”
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This was the second technical foul of the evening called against Auburn. Keyshawn Hall also received one for speaking to an official after a play on the defensive end. Looking back at it, Tahaad Pettiford tried to stop anything from happening, but had no luck. Four free throws for Vanderbilt in the latter half of the second half.
Pearl has not revealed what the feed on his microphone came back with. Either way, he does not believe a technical should have been called on him.
Auburn finds itself in a difficult stretch at the moment, falling below .500 in SEC play. Two straight Quad 1 opportunities presented themselves at home vs. Alabama and Vanderbilt, instead turning into losses. Saturday is another one, this time on the road against Arkansas.
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Gamecock player removed
New No. 1 overall, big shakeup
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