Auburn basketball standout Keyshawn Hall will be “out indefinitely” head coach Steven Pearl told the Auburn Sports Network ahead of the Tigers’ rematch with No. 21 Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Pearl added that Hall “did not live up to the standards and expectations of our team this week,” adding that it’s been addressed. Pearl also said the length and the duration of Hall’s absence is “is up to him, based on some of the things we’ve discussed,” adding that he hopes Hall isn’t sidelined for longer than he needs to be.
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Hall was listed as out on the contest’s SEC availability report, though he traveled with the Tigers to Fayetteville. The reasons for Hall’s status weren’t listed, and he hadn’t been dealing with any health issues publicly. Although, he did go to the bench with 12:38 remaining and never returned in Auburn’s loss to No. 20 Vanderbilt over the weekend.
Pearl said postgame he “went with the guys that I thought put us in the best position to get back in the game,” and Pearl remained mum Friday on Hall’s status for the Tigers’ upcoming contest.
“We’d obviously love for Key to close out games for us,” Pearl said Friday. “He’s a guy that can get to the foul line and do a lot of great things. When he’s in games, we’re obviously better. The lineup that we had out there cut the lead from 14 to 4, so that group did a really good job of being aggressive defensively and running good offense.”
In 23 games, Hall’s averaging 20.7 points and 6.8 rebounds. Both are team-leading marks, and his scoring average is the fourth-best in the SEC. He also leads the conference in free throws made, and he’s averaging 8.7 free throw attempts per game.
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Those numbers, in part due to lacking second-half minutes, didn’t hold up against Vanderbilt. He scored 13 points in 26 minutes, though he didn’t make a shot attempt from the field that wasn’t beyond the arc, going 0 for 8 on 2-point attempts.
Who replaces Keyshawn Hall in Auburn basketball’s rotation?
The likeliest answer’s Elyjah Freeman, and not just because he’ll return to the starting lineup against Arkansas.
Freeman also played the last 16-plus minutes of Auburn’s loss to Vanderbilt. Auburn was plus-eight with Freeman, a Division II transfer, on the floor against the Commodores, and while he scored just five points on 20% shooting, he also grabbed eight rebounds and recorded an assist and steal each.
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Freeman moved from Auburn’s starting lineup to the a sixth-man role early in the year, but he’s having a quietly productive campaign, averaging 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Auburn Tigers guard Elyjah Freeman (6) takes the court as Auburn Tigers take on Texas Longhorns at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
Another option could come from a creative avenue if Pearl’s open to moving Sebastian Williams-Adams to Auburn’s small forward spot. While Williams-Adams primarily plays in the front court, he moves well with the ball in transition, though he’s averaged 1.3 turnovers per game.
A true freshman, Williams-Adams took Freeman’s spot in the starting lineup, and should he take a portion of Hall’s minutes, it’d likely carve out more opportunities for Filip Jović. That duo’s averaging 7.7 and 6.3 points respectively, and they’re shooting a combined 58.8% from the field.
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Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter. To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Steven Pearl provides update on Auburn basketball’s Keyshawn Hall
