Bruce Pearl has the Auburn Tigers cooking on the basketball court.
They just made a Final Four run that ultimately ended when they met up with the eventual national champion Florida Gators, but don’t let that take away from the Tigers’ accomplishments this past season.
Pearl has taken Auburn to the NCAA Tournament four seasons in a row, and Auburn very well may now be considered a “basketball school.”
It used to be football that was the king on the Plains, but credit to Pearl for the turnaround.
Conversely, Auburn football hasn’t been bowl-eligible for two of the last three seasons, and head coach Hugh Freeze is coming off a disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2024.
He’s trying to turn things around starting this spring, but does he feel any pressure from Auburn’s basketball run?
“I don’t give in to the pressure of nothing,” Freeze recently told the media (h/t On3). “Really, I don’t feel a lot of pressure anymore in life. I think, you know, I know we’re doing it the right way. I know we’re building it the right way, and whatever the results come with that I’ll have to live with. Obviously, we want to do exactly what you said. Bruce’s comments are just his belief in what we’re doing and how we’re doing (representing) his belief in what Auburn can be.”
Even after winning an Elite 8 game against No. 2 Michigan State, Pearl was still adamant that Auburn is a “football school” first. He was just happy to see so much support for his team.
“Last thing is just grateful for our fans and our families … We are a football school. We are. Don’t ever forget that,” Pearl said then. “We’re a football school. We are. But we’re also an everything school. We’re an everything school. Our fans represented really well here in Atlanta.”
Freeze may not feel pressure because of the way Pearl categorized the program, but Auburn football’s head coach does seem to know that standards aren’t being met.
“I mean, we need to play better, and we need to win some games for sure,” Freeze said on March 25.
Freeze has gone 11-14 over two seasons on the Plains.
