Auburn’s Bruce Pearl included in College Sports Wire’s top ten list of 2024-25 coaches

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Bruce Pearl is one of the best coaches in college basketball. That is not news to anyone, but with the Tigers historic season he is getting more recognition. Matt Zemek of College Sports Wire named Pearl as one of the ten best coaches in the sport this season. Zemek illustrates that with the Tigers wins versus Quad 1 teams and winning a historically tough SEC it is a no-brainer for Pearl to be on the list.

The top ranked Tigers are 26-2 this season and are on top of the SEC with a 14-1 record. This season is the sixth time he has led Auburn to 25 wins or more. They have navigated a tough schedule going 15-2 in Quad 1 games. Offensively they are fifth in college basketball averaging 85.1 points per game. Outside of losses to Duke and Florida, they have been a dominant team. The Tigers are fifth in the country with a +16.6-point differential.

The quality of this team that makes them great, and proof they are well coached is they can win any kind of game. When needed they can play an up-tempo high scoring game like against Alabama, or a low-scoring defensive game like the one with Tennessee. The defense has been a huge catalyst. With Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell patrolling the paint, Auburn leads the country with 6.6 blocks per game.

A season like this one could only be dreamed about at Auburn before Pearl arrived in 2014. For a decade anyone could argue that Auburn was the worse program the SEC and one of the worst in the nation. Prior to his hiring, the Tigers had not made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2003 when Cliff Ellis was leading the team. That group was led by Marquis Daniels and lost to eventual champion Syracuse led by Carmelo Anthony. Neither Jeff Lebo or Tony Barbee led the Tigers to March Madness. Lebo could only get the Tigers to the NIT once in 2009.

If Auburn does finish the season strong and clinches another SEC Championship, Pearl could be the first Tigers coach to be National Coach of the Year since Ellis won the award in 1999.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/auburns-bruce-pearl-included-college-130144897.html

Author : Auburn Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-28 13:01:00

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