The Auburn Tigers will have plenty to work on after losing their first preseason exhibition to Florida State, 82-71, in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Auburn head coach Steven Pearl mentioned the lack of physicality under the basket as one of the team's weaknesses on Wednesday, saying big men Narcisse Ngoy and Bukky Oboye got "punked" by Florida State and failed to live up to the "difference-maker" label
he gave them this preseason."I thought Narcisse (Ngoy) had some moments, and I thought Bukky (Oboye) obviously has to be better, and he knows that. But, yeah, I mean, we got pushed around. We got punked on the inside," Pearl said postgame. "And that film’s out there now, which is great. Those guys, obviously, we all got to be accountable for it, and we got to make
some real steps."
Another glaring statistic from the loss was the lack of versatility from guards Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton. The Tigers' key returners scored 30 combined points in the loss, with Pettiford failing to get a rebound and only logging two assists. Overton recorded five rebounds and zero assists. Together, the duo shot 9-of-33 from the field and 6-of-21 from three-point range. Pearl wants Pettiford and Overton to build trust with their teammates going forward, which he hopes will ultimately improve shot selection.
"They gotta trust their teammates," Pearl said of Pettiford and Overton. "I can’t sit here and talk about how we built this team around them to bring out their strengths and that they’re not gonna trust their teammates. And they’re gonna watch (the game film), and we’ll watch it as a team, and they’ll see we took some tough (shots)."
Auburn will have two more exhibitions before tipping off the season on Nov. 4 at home against Southeastern Louisiana. Next up on the Tigers' docket is "the feud" with Alabama at Legacy Arena in Birmingham next Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. CT. Check out the rest of Pearl's postgame comments below, via Birmingham Sports:
FULL POSTGAME: Steven Pearl after the loss to Florida State at Boutwell. pic.twitter.com/fpZn5yFrdl
— BirminghamSports (@BirminghamSport) October 15, 2026
Taylor Jones is the lead writer for Auburn Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky. FollowAuburn Wire on X andFacebook.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Steven Pearl sounds off following Auburn's loss to FSU on Wednesday
