Bruce Pearl is once again framing top-seeded Auburn as the underdog going into this weekend’s slate of games.
Before last Sunday’s South Region Final against Michigan State, the Auburn head coach claimed that his Tigers were the underdog even though they were the 1-seed and the Spartans were the 2-seed in Atlanta. Pearl’s reasoning was that while Auburn might’ve been the better team on paper, Michigan State had the much better basketball tradition and a head coach in Tom Izzo who had regularly taken the Spartans to the Final Four.
Whether it was Pearl playing mind games or not, it all worked out. Auburn jumped out to a big lead and held on for the 70-64 victory.
Now, during Thursday’s press conferences in San Antonio, Pearl was playing the underdog card again as the Tigers get ready to face SEC rival Florida on Saturday night.
“What I’ve tried to do all year long is demonstrate that this is unchartered waters for Auburn men’s basketball,” said Pearl, who has Auburn in the Final Four for just the second time in its history, with the other time also coming under Pearl in 2019. “We had some great moments in our history, great coaches, Sonny Smith and Cliff Ellis, great players in Charles Barkley and Chuck Person and several others. No real sustained great, great success.”
Then Pearl started comparing Auburn to other programs at the Final Four.
“Here we are at the Final Four. Like, Houston has won national championships. They have history with Guy Lewis. They’ve been here before. Duke, that story has been (told) over and over again, right? Billy Donovan took Florida here, won a couple national championships. Florida has more history,” explained Pearl. “We come in as the overall No. 1 (seed), but we’re probably considered the fourth-best team here right now. There is nothing new. I prefer the underdog role rather than having to prove that we’re as good as we say we are. So, we’re going to take that underdog role into the Final Four and see if we can capitalize on it.”
Just to clarify, Houston hasn’t won an NCAA title in men’s basketball, but the Cougars were once a powerhouse under Lewis and lost in the final in back-to-back years in 1983 and ’84.
In Pearl’s defense, Auburn is an underdog in the betting markets against Florida — unlike last weekend against Michigan State. Auburn is a 2.5-point underdog to the Gators on Saturday, per BetMGM.
BetMGM Sportsbook
First Bet Bonus Up to $1500: IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, NV, NY, OH, TN, WY/// Bet $10, Get $150 States: AZ, CO, DC, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, PA, VA, WV 21+ and present in Participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Not in NY.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Bruce Pearl explains why Auburn is the ‘underdog’ at the 2025 Final Four )
Also on site :