AUBURN, Ala. – As a young assistant in 1987, Bruce Pearl coached in the Maui Invitational in its early stages, returning to Iowa with the championship trophy.
Thirty-one years later, he's back in Hawaii.
"The Maui invitational has a special place in my heart," Pearl said. "1987-88 was one of the first two to three years of the event. I was an assistant at Iowa, and we opened up against Stanford. A team we had just left a few years before.
"Then we played Danny Manning in Kansas; the year Danny Manning and Kansas won the national championship. Then we played Rollie Massimino at Villanova, and as an assistant at Iowa, we won the Maui Invitational, but I haven't been back since.
"I have never been there as a head coach. It is an honor and a privilege, and I am grateful for Auburn for giving me the opportunity to take this team and try to take it out there and see how we stack up against the best programs in the country."
No. 9 Auburn plays Xavier Monday at 1:30 p.m. CT in the tournament's opening game. The winner will face the winner of the No. 1 Duke-San Diego State game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT.
Pearl's relationships with executives at ESPN, where he worked as a broadcaster before coming to Auburn, helped earn the Tigers an invitation to the prestigious tournament.
"I think the people at ESPN either took me at my word that I would have this program competitive by now or couldn't get anyone else to fill the spot, because no one else wanted to get in that mix," he said. "I don't know which one, but I am glad we are competitive."
Auburn's final opponent on Tuesday will be from the other bracket, which includes Gonzaga, Arizona, Iowa State and Illinois.
As freshmen, seniors Bryce Brown and Horace Spencer played in Hawaii, going 1-2 in the Diamond Head Classic over the Christmas break. Three years later, they return to a higher profile event as defending SEC champions, a top 10 team.
"I'm hoping to get a good experience and see where we're at for this trip. It'll be really fun," Brown said. "Xavier's a very talented team. They're typically a high Division I program. We're going to take it one game at a time, of course. Hopefully, we get past Xavier and play Duke. That would be a really good test. Having a chance to go up against Duke would be a really good opportunity for us."
Auburn arrived in Hawaii Thursday evening after a full day of travel, allowing for three days of rest, practice and some sightseeing before the games begin.
"I'm honestly there just for basketball," junior guard Samir Doughty said. "I'm focused right now on playing Xavier, not really trying to go out there to have fun. Just trying to stay focused and get Ws out there. Most of the teams we're going to play are going to be at least Sweet 16 teams. We're going to try to get better, improve out there and take advantage of the opportunity that we have."
Player to watch: Samir Doughty
In his first season on the court for the Tigers, Samir Doughty has made an instant impact on both the offensive and defensive ends. The VCU transfer is tied for the team lead with 15.0 points per game, having scored in double figures all three games this season. He has also totaled seven steals, tops on the team.
Keep it 100
Auburn scored 103 points vs. Mississippi College, the most points for the Tigers since a 119-85 victory over Winthrop last season. It is the second time the Tigers have reached the century mark this season after defeating South Alabama 101-58 in the season opener, and the seventh time in 135 games under head coach Bruce Pearl. Prior to Pearl's arrival, Auburn hadn't scored 100 points in the previous 337 games since a 105-66 victory over Grambling State on Nov. 29, 2003.
Balanced scoring
Six Tigers are averaging double figures including Samir Doughty (15.0), Jared Harper (15.0), Chuma Okeke (14.0), Bryce Brown (13.7), Austin Wiley (11.5) and Malik Dunbar (11.3).
Auburn has placed six players in double figures in two of its three games. Eight different Tigers have scored in double figures in at least one game this season. For the season, the Tigers are averaging 97.3 points per game, which is 18th nationally.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
No. 9 Auburn opens prestigious Maui Jim Maui Invitational vs. Xavier
