"We are an everything conference": Bruce Pearl declares SEC best in the nation, ready to lead basketball's charge
Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl has long been a proponent of the Southeastern Conference's prowess in basketball. Pearl has coached in the SEC for nearly two decades, first at Tennessee and now at Auburn.
The two-time SEC tournament-winning coach doubled down on the sentiment during the conference's annual media day this week where he proclaimed the SEC to be the best conference in the nation.
"We have enjoyed living in the shadows of some of the great football programs that we’ve had over the years, but rather than focusing on that, we’ve embraced that and recognizing that if we can do it in football," Bruce said. "If we can do it in baseball and golf and women’s sports — we are an everything conference."
Bruce Pearl also mentioned how proud he's to be involved in the SEC.
"The second-best conference in America isn’t even close to the SEC in all sports," he added.
"Men’s basketball wasn’t there on a consistent basis. So I’m proud of both Auburn and Alabama for representing the state of Alabama and playing quality basketball."
In his 16 seasons coaching in the SEC, Pearl failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament only four times. He led Auburn to its first Final Four appearance in 2019, which was also his best run in the tournament so far.
Auburn is one of nine teams from their conference that made it to the AP Top 25 preseason rankings, the highest number of teams from any conference in the NCAA.
Bruce Pearl shares his thoughts on Auburn's tough nonconference schedule
The new season of college basketball is right around the corner, and Auburn's 11th-season coach Bruce Pearl high expectations for his team. Auburn was ranked the second highest in the SEC, behind Alabama, per AP ranking.
However, the Tigers face a tough nonconference schedule, including games against powerhouses like Houston, Iowa State, Duke, Ohio State and Purdue among others.
"I think our players deserve the opportunity to play against the best and have that great, great challenge," Bruce said.
"We're going to have some adversity. We're going to lose some games in non-conference, perhaps more than we have in the past, just because of the strength of the schedule."
Bruce Pearl's men travel to Houston, Texas on Nov. 9 to face the Cougars in The Battleground 2k24. At Lahaina Civic Center, on Nov. 25, Auburn play Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational. The highly anticipated matchup against Duke is scheduled for Dec. 4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.