Auburn basketball coach Steven Pearl holds nothing back about Tennessee clash

With his first postseason win under his belt, Steven Pearl is ready for the next step in the SEC Tournament. Auburn’s first-round win over Mississippi State allows it to set its sights on Tennessee, which Pearl has already done.

Auburn and Tennessee met once in the regular season, with the Volunteers edging out a 77-69 victory in January. Despite the game’s competitiveness, Pearl admitted that his team got “punked” in the first matchup, and they are ready to respond.

“They punked us the first time,” Pearl said, via Joe Rexrode of ‘The Athletic.’ “They’re gonna challenge your toughness, they’re gonna challenge your manhood, and you’ve got to respond.”

Auburn’s loss to Tennessee snapped a four-game win streak and marked the beginning of a brutal 3-8 stretch to end the regular season. The Tigers are still on the outside looking in of the NCAA Tournament, making every game a must-win until the path ends.

Auburn set up a rematch with Tennessee by constructing a massive second half to beat Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament opening round. The Bulldogs entered halftime with a three-point lead, but Pearl’s team put up 49 points in the second half to secure a much-needed 79-61 victory.

Leading scorers Keyshawn Hall and Tahaad Pettiford combined for 27 points, but it was junior guard Kevin Overton who carried the load with a team-high 22 points. Auburn was surprisingly stingy on defense for the first time in weeks, holding Mississippi State to 39 percent shooting and 26 percent from three-point distance.

The win bumped Auburn up to 17-15 in year one under Pearl. Barring a Cinderella-like run in the SEC Tournament, the Tigers appear to be miles away from March Madness relevance, regardless of what Bruce and Steven Peal claim to believe.

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