Bruce Pearl was over the moon talking about Ole Miss head basketball coach Chris Beard following a 92-82 win for Auburn in Oxford this past Saturday. Pearl pointed out Beard beating him on the recruiting trail and lauded what he's built with the Rebels.
"It's really healthy, but that's the SEC. It's different, and you better believe Chris Beard has raised the bar," Pearl said, per On SI. "Look at his staff. He's got one of the best staffs in college basketball, period. Those guys that are with him are unbelievable, and the guys they're recruiting, those are the guys I'm recruiting and then some.
"There are a bunch of guys on that team that we tried to get. Chris Beard has elevated everything, and he's got high expectations. I know he's disappointed because he expected to win this game. I guarantee you he did, and that means he is going to be in the upper division of this league every year."
Pearl was complimentary to his Tigers too. Auburn had a 48/50/78 shooting slash as a team and doubled up Ole Miss with 22 assists to the Rebels' 11.
"Guys just made plays. They want to win for Auburn. They recognize this is a special team, and they want to make history. We played some beautiful basketball. I think the coolest thing about this was that (in front of) ESPN's national television audience, every time Ole Miss made a run, we answered. We led the game for like 34 or 35 minutes. And that's just hard to do on the road. But that is how the No. 1 team in the country acts."
Auburn is 20-1 and ranked No. 1 in the country. AU returns home this week for a Tuesday date with Oklahoma and a Saturday matinee against Florida.