Bruce Pearl gave his Auburn basketball program a pat on the back for an incredible 12-1 run through their nonconference schedule ahead of their SEC opener. Pearl also explained why "It Just Means More" will be college hoops' motto as conference play fully kicks off this weekend.
"It was the toughest non-conference schedule in the history of Auburn basketball, and we lost one game at Duke; a close game,” said Pearl, per Rivals. “So, I'm very, very proud of our kids. A lot of the games we played were on neutral sites and away from home, so we demonstrated that we can win away from Neville.”
“Now, we get ready to start the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball. Like, there's maybe never been a league like this and … the strong are literally going to be the only ones who survive. Hungry, healthy, humble is the way to get through it.
“Matchups are going to matter. We're going to lose games. But we can't let a loss affect us the next time out. We've got to be beat instead of beating ourselves. But we're healthy and we're ready.”
Things couldn't have gone better in nonconference play for AU outside of a road loss at Cameron Indoor to Duke. The Tigers have perfected their double-big lineup with Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome, with the latter expanding his skill set to be a mismatch at the 4 and the former thriving in his first starting role. Tahaad Petiford is a slam dunk prospect and, after an initial bout of turbulence before and during "Plane Gate," Jahki Howard looks as good as advertised.
Everything is working for Pearl's team. As Missouri approaches, and a trip to Austin for a first-time conference matchup with Texas follows, Auburn looks better prepared to make a deep run in March than ever.
If Pearl's team can prove too good for the yips that plagued the talented 2024 team against Yale in the Round of 64 and the 2022 team against Miami in the Round of 32, history seems inevitable.