Auburn coach Steven Pearl’s No. 21 Tigers were blown out 97-68 by the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on Saturday. The lopsided loss dropped the Tigers to 7-3 for the season.
Since succeeding his father, Bruce Pearl, as coach of the Tigers in September, Steven Pearl has been under pressure to continue the team’s upward trajectory in the past few years that saw them ranked as one of the No. 1 seeds during the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Steven Pearl Addresses Nepotism Hire Speculation
During this week’s segment of the “Don’t @ Me” show with analyst Dan Dakich, Pearl addressed claims that he was a nepotism hire at Auburn and explained why he deserved to be the Tigers’ coach.
“I get why people say the things that they did,” Pearl said. “I get that people might look at this and see it as a nepotism hire. I get why people may say I haven’t earned my marks and all these things. At the end of the day, I just gotta be secure in the fact that I’ve busted my ass my entire career.
“Whether it be, being a walk-on at Tennessee, or starting as an assistant strength coach here at Auburn and kinda working my way up through operations and assistant coaching and defensive coordinator, associate coach. I just gotta be comfortable in my own skin that I’ve put the work in.”
Pearl’s Tigers have had mixed results against ranked opposition this season, losing narrowly 73-72 to the No. 7 Houston Cougars, while being blown out 102-72 by the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines and No. 1 Wildcats. On the other hand, Auburn beat coach Rick Pitino’s No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm.
Auburn A.D. Backed Pearl for the Top Job
Bruce Pearl’s retirement shocked the college basketball world, and his son’s elevation to head coach led to varied discourse among fans and analysts. The elder Pearl still retains a post at the program as the special assistant to the athletic director.
During the news conference introducing Steven as the next head coach, Auburn athletic director John Cohen was confident that the former associate head coach was the right man for the job.
“Steven Pearl has paid his dues,” Cohen said. “He’s earned this opportunity. He’s the right fit for Auburn at the right time.”
In ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s first bracketology of the season for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Pearl’s Tigers were designated No. 5 seeds in the South Region, a potential drop from the program’s first-ever No. 1 seed designation last season.
