How much has Bruce Pearl changed Auburn basketball? Look at the NCAA Tournament history
SPOKANE — Auburn basketball made history in the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers, who beat South Carolina, Mississippi State and Florida on the way to winning the title, secured the program's seventh conference championship; Auburn has won three SEC Tournaments (1985, 2019 and 2024) and has laid claim to four regular-season titles (1960, 1999, 2018 and 2022). Bruce Pearl is the only Auburn coach to lead the Tigers to multiple SEC Tournament championships.
"I feel like he deserves that because he really puts in the work," junior Chad Baker-Mazara said of Pearl's accomplishment. "I see him every day stressing. ... But I love him because he's always working, first one in there, last one to leave. ... I'm glad we helped him accomplish that."
Winning the conference tournament guaranteed the Tigers an invitation to March Madness, but it's not like there was ever any doubt whether or not Auburn would be included in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are a No. 4 seed, set to play No. 13 Yale in the Round of 64 on Friday (3:15 p.m. CT, TNT).
It's the third straight NCAA Tournament berth for Auburn, which has made it to the Big Dance 13 times in the 84-year history of the tournament.
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Auburn basketball's NCAA Tournament history before Bruce Pearl
The Tigers secured eight appearances in March Madness before Pearl was hired in 2014, including five straight under Sonny Smith from 1984-88 and three while guided by Cliff Ellis in 1999, 2000 and 2003. Auburn made it as far as the Elite Eight with Smith at the helm, other times bowing out of the tournament in the second round twice, the first round once and the Sweet 16 once.
Ellis never advanced farther than the Sweet 16 while at Auburn, but he remains the only coach in program history to lead the Tigers to a No. 1 seed in March Madness; Auburn, led by Chris Porter that season in 1999, began 17-0 and went 14-2 against SEC competition before falling to No. 4 Ohio State.
Tigers under Bruce Pearl in March Madness
Auburn reaching the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years is a rare feat, as Smith's five in a row are the only other time it's been done. It would've been four out of the past five seasons, too, but March Madness was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Auburn was 25-6 at the time of the stoppage, a shoo-in to make the postseason tournament.
Pearl is five for 10 in reaching March Madness while at Auburn, and three of those seasons in which the Tigers missed out were his first few on the Plains taking over a team that hadn't gone over .500 in more than five years. Pearl has also never gotten bounced in the first round while at Auburn, making it to at least the Round of 32 every year the Tigers have had the opportunity.
The Final Four run in 2019 is Pearl's crowning moment, of course, as it remains the program's highest peak. The Tigers have a chance to surpass that this season, and it starts Friday against Yale.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball's March Madness history before and after Bruce Pearl
