Steven Pearl didn’t want to hear any talk about being close or showing promise after Auburn’s 73-72 loss to No. 1 Houston on Sunday.

In the opening statement of his postgame news conference, he made his feelings clear.

“Moral victories are for losers,” Pearl said. “So don’t ask me a question if I feel... no, I don’t. Because I told our guys I thought we were the better team.”

Three games into a season with a new head coach and an almost entirely new roster, Auburn was a missed shot at the buzzer away from knocking off the No. 1 team in the country. It felt similar to last season’s game over Houston at times, but that one ended with the Tigers scoring an early season-defining win on the road.

Auburn didn’t get the result it wanted on Sunday, but the performance showed how much the tea

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