HotBasketballTakes: The Steven Pearl Era Officially Launches
The arena is empty. It's quiet—for now.
But tonight, the lights come on, the noise returns, as the season begins at Auburn, and The Jungle will come to life once more...
Auburn basketball tips off tonight, and for the first time ever, Steven Pearl is running the show in a game that counts. The football season has flatlined. Bruce is watching from the sideline. And Steven has the clipboard.
Auburn opens the regular season at home against Bethune-Cookman (7 p.m. CT), a team picked to win the SWAC and not here to roll over. While the name on the jersey might not turn heads, this game marks the official start of something new—and it matters.
The Tigers are coming off a dominant 100–71 preseason win over Memphis in Atlanta. That wasn’t just a bounce-back after the Oklahoma State OT loss, it was a reset. Auburn’s defense completely overwhelmed Memphis, forcing 23 turnovers—17 of them in the first half alone—and turning those mistakes into 33 points the other way. It was suffocating. It was intentional. It was coaching.
Steven Pearl opened the game in a zone look, then shifted into pressure, then mixed it again. He said after the game, “We started out in our zone defense and I think it really threw them off guard.” That’s not a guy filling in for Dad. That’s a guy setting the tone.
And the scoring wasn’t coming from just one spot. Keyshawn Hall led the way again with 20 points—efficient, smooth, physical. Freshman Kaden Magwood put together a perfect shooting night with 15 points on 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from deep. Filip Jovic looked way more comfortable, adding 11 points and drawing contact all night. Four players finished in double figures, and nearly every Tiger who checked in found the scoreboard. The team looked deep, connected, and hungry.
Now it counts.
Bethune-Cookman comes in with real bite. They’re no high-major, but they’re no pushover either. They were picked to win the SWAC, and they’ve got Doctor Bradley—the league’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year—ready to be a problem on the perimeter. If Auburn loses focus, this could get uncomfortable.
But this game is more about Auburn than the opponent. It’s Steven Pearl’s official debut. It’s the start of the identity formation. It’s the first real tape that’ll define roles heading into one of the nastiest non-conference schedules in the country. Expect Magwood and Sebastian Williams-Adams to get real run early, especially with KeShawn Murphy’s status still uncertain due to a lingering knee injury. If he’s out or limited, the frontcourt minutes will fall to Jovic and Williams-Adams to hold the line.
Auburn enters the season ranked No. 20 in the country but was picked sixth in the SEC, which tells you everything you need to know. The talent is there. So is the ceiling. But with Bruce stepping back, even for a game, there’s still that wait-and-see factor hanging in the air.
The team is led by preseason All-SEC guard Tahaad Pettiford and star transfer Keyshawn Hall, but it’s going to take more than a couple stars. Auburn will need to build chemistry and consistency before they hit a November run that includes Houston, Oregon, Arizona, and Purdue. That stretch is brutal, and if the rotation isn’t settled by then, it’s going to get exposed fast.
The path forward is simple: use these first few games to build defensive identity, solidify the backcourt rotation, and survive the first month without any early stumbles. A top-four SEC finish and strong NCAA Tournament seed are on the table—but only if this team locks in now.
Tonight? Auburn should roll. Expect a lopsided win and a first official victory for Steven Pearl. But don’t just watch the score. Watch the substitutions. Watch who gets trusted late in halves. Watch how the ball moves. That’ll tell you more about where this team is headed than the final box score.
HotBasketballTake: Auburn 87, Bethune-Cookman 62.
Football has been rough but basketball is just getting started. And this era? It might be a lot more fun.