Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl and several of his players spoke to the media after their big win in Nashville
It was a big day for the Auburn basketball program. For the third time in program history, the Auburn Tigers won the SEC Conference Tournament. It was the second tourney win for head coach Bruce Pearl, who last coached the Tigers to a conference tournament title in 2019. And we all know what happened that season.
Auburn knew it would be a fight to beat the Florida Gators, who served the Tigers a demoralizing loss earlier in the season when they traveled to Gainesville. This time, however, it was the Tigers on top in an 86-67 victory, and Pearl was very emotional on television, and very proud of his team.
Winning the championship this year means even more because the league was so good," said Pearl, per Auburn Live. "I think this one is the most special. Maybe it’s because it’s in my 10th year here at Auburn or because the bond that this team had. I wanted it really badly for these guys, or maybe just the fact that this league was that good. Proud of my team."
Johni Broome on making in-game adjustments and trying to play without fouling:
"Yeah, we got to adjust to the game. Every game is going to be the same way. That’s why this team is so good, because we can adapt. If y’all want to have a shootout, we can have a shootout. If your guys want to rough it up a little bit, play more physical, we can do that, too. Yeah, this team is special."
Chad Baker-Mazara on responding to Florida's run to nearly tie the game in the second half:
"It’s a game of runs. At the same time, of course, there’s a four-day playing. I feel like at that point, when they made their run, we had fresh, new guys come in. I feel like the guys who came in just turned it up a whole different notch. We executed, stayed calm, stayed composed. We stayed composed, came out there, executed. Once we figured it out again, we didn’t let down."
After the tournament win, the Tigers were slotted as a No. 4 seed in the East region, and will play their first tournament game against Yale in Spokane, Washington.