Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl talked about how this year’s Final Four, the team’s second stint at this stage of the NCAA Tournament, feels different compared to when they last made it this far.
In his appearance at “The Field of 68” podcast, Burce Pearl got honest about his thoughts on their Final Four appearance back in 2019, compared to the roster of Final Four contenders this season.
“This is different than 2019,” Pearl said. “In 2019, that team finished fourth in the league. We’re a five seed, and the road to the Final Four was Kansas, North Carolina, the one see,d and then Kentucky, to see the Kentucky team that had three pros and so but then we got to the Final Four.”
“It’s Texas Tech, Michigan State, Virginia and Auburn. I mean, there was a bunch of mutts there. And in some ways, I don’t even know there was a one seed. So now this time, okay, we come in as No. 1 overall, and we don’t end the season great, so we’re not playing great, but we beat Creighton, Michigan and Michigan State on the road to the Final Four, all really, really good teams.”
Pearl then praised the teams that have made it to this season’s Final Four, and acknowledged the challenge that this imposes on him and his team.
“The difference would be okay. We were better than all three of those teams, not by a lot and no criticism at this thing. We had, we had better players. We had great plans. Okay, now I look at Houston, Florida and Duke. You could not ask for three more formidable opponents than those three.”
Bruce Pearl Talks Facing Former Assitant Coach in Final Four
In a separate interview, Bruce Pearl talked about facing the Flordia Gators as part of the Final Four, and how it feels having to go against his former assistant coach Todd Golden, who is now the head coach for Florida.
“It is, because the relationship is that close,” Pearl said in response when asked if facing Golden as the opposing head coach feels weird to him. “But if we have to play each other, let’s do it for a championship, you know? I’m so proud of Todd and so happy for him.”
“They’re big. And Todd does a great job coaching. This is going to be a great, great challenge for us.”
Bruce Pearl has been the head coach for the Auburn Tigers since 2014.
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