Everyone in the Auburn locker room knew that Thursday’s performance won’t cut it much longer.

That’s because the easy games are over for the Tigers. After beating 16-seed Alabama State by 20 in the first round, Auburn can no longer afford to play how it did Thursday for much longer.

“We won’t beat Creighton playing the way we played tonight,” Pearl said after the win, looking ahead to Auburn’s Round of 32 matchup.

Thursday’s performance was another unsatisfactory showing for a team that lost three of its last four games going into the NCAA tournament. It felt early to start ringing the alarm bells after losing to Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference tournament, but the lack of response in Auburn’s next game is different.

What has led to the recent performances comes down to more than just one thing, but the biggest theme seems to be more intangible than tangible.

Pearl criticized his team’s energy after the game, something he said Auburn’s systems won’t work without. The lack of energy came on both ends of the floor too.

One thing Pearl highlighted defensively was the team’s closeouts, something it will need to improve when facing Creighton, a team that knocked down 11 of its 24 3-point attempts in its first-round win over Louisville.

Offensively, one thing that came up was how often Auburn seemed to settle. The Tigers shot 35 3-pointers against Alabama State, tying a season-high.

“We shot 20 3s at halftime against a team that’s not that big,” senior center Dylan Cardwell said after the game. “We gotta dominate the paint. We had an inside advantage, and we didn’t go inside. I love Miles Kelly shooting, but everybody else, let’s do the dirty work.”

Pearl was asked after Thursday’s game how energy and effort can be addressed, especially this late in the season.

He said it comes down to being honest with the team about it and added that those discussions have already started.

“At the end of the game, are you exhausted? Do you have anything left in the tank? And we definitely had a few guys that just didn’t,” Pearl said. “That’s how the season ends, sooner than later.”

Cardwell said it’s going to come down to players making sacrifices and buying in. Those are words commonly thrown around when talking about what it takes for teams to be successful, but it’s not as common to hear that this late in the year, with the season on the line.

“We’re still struggling with some things internally, so we’ve just got to figure it out as we move forward,” Cardwell said.

When pressed about what type of internal issues he was referring to, Cardwell went back to talking about sacrifice.

“Do you want this season to be over tomorrow, or do you want it to be over in April? It’s just a difference,“ he said. ”We have the opportunity of a lifetime in front of us, and right now, our effort and energy is not showing that we’re taking advantage of the opportunity.”

Cardwell’s words after the Alabama State win could sound haunting if Auburn doesn’t improve and sees another promising season end in the first weekend.

Luckily for the Tigers, things like energy and sacrifice are 100% in their control.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m