The Stretch 4: Auburn is close to finalizing another 'big' non-con game
Bruce Pearl said the Tigers are going to have their toughest schedule yet. A trip to Birmingham would get them closer to sealing that.
HC Bruce Pearl (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
HOOVER, Ala. — Bruce Pearl said several times Tuesday evening that he needed to be careful with what he wished for.
Pearl has spent the last 10 seasons as the head coach of Auburn men’s basketball, taking one of the least successful power-conference programs and turning it into one of the most consistent championship contenders in the SEC.
At times — especially early in his tenure — it was tough to get teams to agree to play Auburn. It was viewed as a no-win situation for higher-caliber programs.
And, even when the Tigers started winning league titles, producing first-round NBA Draft picks and made it to the Final Four, some big-name powerhouses in the sport still wouldn’t square off with them. On at least one occasion, a true college basketball blue blood backed out of a potential scheduling agreement with Auburn.
That’s not going to be the case this upcoming season, when Pearl returns a large chunk of a team that won the SEC Tournament title and finished in the top-five nationally in several analytics-based ratings systems.
Auburn is now viewed as a serious player in college basketball — and one worth playing.
“It's where we've worked so hard to try to get to,” Pearl said. “It's like, look, be careful what you wish for now. So, right now, we're able to be in touch with some of the best programs in college basketball, and they're actually interested in playing us now. Now, if we go back to their town, their fans think it's a big game.
“I don't even know if I can begin to wrap my arms around that. But that's what I've worked for 10 years to get done. Again, be careful what you wish for, because we'll be playing against some of the best teams in the non-conference this year.”
While the only officially confirmed non-conference games for Auburn basketball next season are an absolutely loaded Maui Invitational in Hawaii and a trip to Duke in the second edition of the SEC/ACC Challenge, Pearl hinted at a major addition to the slate when talking to media members before an Ambush alumni club stop in Hoover.
For more on that game, the Maui-and-Duke combo and a lot about an evolving Auburn backcourt, here is a special summer edition of The Stretch 4.
(Steven Leonard/Auburn Tigers)