By his own admission, Charles Barkley does not watch a ton of college basketball.
Fans who tune into March Madness every year are well aware of this, given the fact Barkley is one of the tournament's top analysts and broadcasters despite a reluctance to do any sort of prep before Selection Sunday... or the First Round... or even, sometimes, the Elite Eight.
But the Auburn alum doesn't need to know much about who is playing for his alma mater to immediately go all-in when the Tigers are contending for a national title. With No. 1 seed Auburn facing No. 1 seed Florida on Saturday in the Final Four, Sir Charles was certainly not shy about rooting for his former team. Which meant he also had to give the Gators their flowers after they defeated Auburn, 79-73, to reach the championship game.
That could not have been fun after Chuck was all smiles on the broadcast when Auburn went into halftime up 46-38, but Barkley actually stuck to the high road here.
Charles Barkley reacts to his Auburn Tigers losing to the Florida Gators in the Final Four. 🏀🎙️ pic.twitter.com/O3ys44fSge
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 6, 2025
The visuals from CBS of Charles Barkley reacting to the Auburn-Florida game. 🏀📺🎙️ pic.twitter.com/6gBGutjadU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 6, 2025
Charles Barkley certainly liked that first half from Auburn. 🏀🎙️ pic.twitter.com/s8huoQPE7E
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 5, 2025
There it is, folks. Charles Barkley showing how to handle a gutting loss with class and calmness. Maybe he really is becoming a role model after all.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Charles Barkley graciously accepted Auburn's Final Four loss after gloating at halftime vs. Florida
