Bruce Pearl has intrigue about the Auburn Tigers’ upcoming matchup against the Creighton Blue Jays in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Jays are coming off a solid 89-75 victory over the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday. They frustrated their opponents, holding them to 43% shooting from the field and 28% from beyond the arc. On the other hand, Creighton shot 57% and 46% in those respective categories.
Following Auburn’s win over Alabama State, Pearl talked about the prospects of facing Creighton in the next round. He is interested to see how his squad handles the physicality of their upcoming opponents.
“Well, since our guys complain about getting fouled all the time, it’s going to be a real tough one for us because they just aren’t going to foul us,” Pearl said.
“Well, since our guys complain about getting fouled all the time, it’s going to be a real tough one for us because they just aren’t going to foul us.”
Bruce Pearl speaks to the challenge of going against a Creighton team that has the fewest total number of fouls in the country. pic.twitter.com/p3DTTFNrU8
— Vince Wolfram (@vincewolfram15) March 21, 2025
Why Bruce Pearl, Auburn must be cautious of Creighton
As one of the favorites to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament, a lot of expectations are on Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers. Creighton has a knack for upsetting teams in the tournament, so Auburn must be at their best.
Regarding Pearl’s comments about Creighton’s physicality, that can be seen in their star player Ryan Kalkbrenner. He has never fouled out in his five-year career and Creighton fouls less than any team in the country (10.9 fouls per game).
Auburn is coming off a solid 83-63 win over the Alabama State Hornets on Thursday. They improved to 29-5 on the season, having gone 15-3 in SEC Play. They average 83.8 points on 48.2% shooting from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc. As a result, they take down opponents by a margin of 14.4 points per game.
The 1-seed Tigers will prepare for their second-round matchup. They face 9-seed Creighton on March 22 at 7:10 p.m. ET.
The post Auburn’s Bruce Pearl reveals unique challenge of playing against Creighton appeared first on ClutchPoints.
