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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the odds are hardly stacked against Auburn basketball.
The No. 1 overall seed in this year's field, the Tigers opened the big dance with the third-best odds to win it all. They're kicking off March Madness in an arena where they clinched an SEC championship. If they survive the weekend, they'll play their Sweet Sixteen game in Atlanta, just up the road from their campus.
But that didn't stop Bruce Pearl from rehashing the sting of last season's end with his team, a day before it plays 16-seed Alabama State (1:50 p.m. CT, CBS) at Rupp Arena.
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Pearl said Wednesday that he discussed Auburn's round-of-64 bouncing from last year's tournament by 13-seed Yale that morning. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers 78-76 in Spokane, Washington, where Auburn got multiple shot attempts to tie or take a lead on the game's final possession but couldn't cash in.
"Yale outplayed us," Pearl said. "We shot 50% in the game. Typically, that's good enough to win. We fouled them too much. We turned the ball over late, crucial moments, and we didn't make free throws at the end. And as a result, we lost the game.
"Anybody can have that one shining moment."
That's exactly why Pearl brought it up.
He immediately pointed out that, despite Auburn beating Alabama State at Neville Arena last season, the Hornets won the second half 37-36. He said the Tigers recognize they'll have to play well if they want to win, but he also made it clear that Auburn needs to put the past behind it — even the very recent past.
"We're looking at the overall No. 1 seed in the rear-view mirror," Pearl said. "We worked hard for that overall No. 1 seed. To survive the SEC this year as regular season champions, to look at the non-conference and having beaten Houston at Houston, having won the Maui Invitational, lost in a close game at Duke, our only loss in non-conference, and to have beaten Purdue and Ohio State on neutral courts, we earned that through the regular season.
"That's in the past right now. We are six wins away from achieving what our real goal is, which is to win the national championship. We recognize that at any stop, including tomorrow, we could lose. We're going to do everything we possibly can to not."
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Why Bruce Pearl discussed Yale upset with Tigers
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The No. 1 overall seed in this year's field, the Tigers opened the big dance with the third-best odds to win it all. They're kicking off March Madness in an arena where they clinched an SEC championship. If they survive the weekend, they'll play their Sweet Sixteen game in Atlanta, just up the road from their campus.
But that didn't stop Bruce Pearl from rehashing the sting of last season's end with his team, a day before it plays 16-seed Alabama State (1:50 p.m. CT, CBS) at Rupp Arena.
Ready to win March Madness? Join USA TODAY’s Survivor Pool today
Pearl said Wednesday that he discussed Auburn's round-of-64 bouncing from last year's tournament by 13-seed Yale that morning. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers 78-76 in Spokane, Washington, where Auburn got multiple shot attempts to tie or take a lead on the game's final possession but couldn't cash in.
"Yale outplayed us," Pearl said. "We shot 50% in the game. Typically, that's good enough to win. We fouled them too much. We turned the ball over late, crucial moments, and we didn't make free throws at the end. And as a result, we lost the game.
"Anybody can have that one shining moment."
That's exactly why Pearl brought it up.
He immediately pointed out that, despite Auburn beating Alabama State at Neville Arena last season, the Hornets won the second half 37-36. He said the Tigers recognize they'll have to play well if they want to win, but he also made it clear that Auburn needs to put the past behind it — even the very recent past.
"We're looking at the overall No. 1 seed in the rear-view mirror," Pearl said. "We worked hard for that overall No. 1 seed. To survive the SEC this year as regular season champions, to look at the non-conference and having beaten Houston at Houston, having won the Maui Invitational, lost in a close game at Duke, our only loss in non-conference, and to have beaten Purdue and Ohio State on neutral courts, we earned that through the regular season.
"That's in the past right now. We are six wins away from achieving what our real goal is, which is to win the national championship. We recognize that at any stop, including tomorrow, we could lose. We're going to do everything we possibly can to not."
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Why Bruce Pearl discussed Yale upset with Tigers
Continue reading...
