GREENVILLE, S.C. – Twenty-four hours before second-seeded Auburn tips off against Jacksonville State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Bruce Pearl designed a new play during the Tigers practice Thursday at nearby Furman University.
"I drew up something new this morning, where I thought we could get a shot out of it, and I'm going to run it tomorrow," the SEC Coach of the Year said. "You are always tinkering, and you are always trying to make adjustments.
"We are not a team, either offensively or defensively, that simply imposes its will on the opponent. We take what you give us on both ends."
Champions of the Southeastern Conference, Auburn enters March Madness with a 27-5 record after going 15-3 in the SEC to claim the season crown.
"We've got the Defensive Player of the Year, in my mind, Walker Kessler, the best shot blocker in the country. He cleans up a lot of our messes," Pearl said. "I can play call, get Jabari Smith the shot, and he's going to make it most of the time. We've got undersized but dynamic guards that are capable of getting hot and making plays.SEC Freshman of the Year Jabari Smith leads Auburn averaging 17.1 points per game
"Put it all together -- and especially this year in this league, this was the best the SEC's been since I've been in there, top to bottom. To be able to survive it and stay on top was a great accomplishment. But that's the regular season. This is the postseason. It's one-and-done right now."
Auburn takes on in-state opponent Jacksonville State Friday in the first round of the single elimination tournament.
"We all understand there's a finality to the loss," said Walker Kessler, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. "We lose, we go home."
After Thursday morning's closed practice, the Tigers took their turn at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, practicing at the tournament venue while hundreds of Auburn fans applauded each 3-pointer.
"It just shows us what Auburn really is," said SEC Freshman of the Year Jabari Smith. "A fanbase that's going to travel, a fanbase that's going to show you love. When we see that, it just hypes us up. It makes us feel like we've got to leave it all out there for them, not only for us."
With Auburn seeded No. 2 and the Gamecocks seeded No. 15 in the Midwest Regional, most college basketball fans selected the Tigers to advance in their brackets. Near the end of his pregame press conference, Pearl reminded reporters that Auburn is historically more familiar with playing the role of David than Goliath.
"I'm a 12 seed. That's who I am," Pearl said. "That's who I've always been, and that's who my teams have been. That's what Auburn basketball still is. I know we're a 2 seed, and I hope we take advantage of the hard work that we've done to be a 2 seed, but we're hungry, and we're humble. We've got the underdog thing as well.
"That's who we've been in our league. We're Auburn in the SEC in men's basketball. We're regular season champions, and we're going to try to represent our conference and our university, and Jacksonville State's in the way. We both have great motivation."
The Tigers and Gamecocks tip off at 11:40 a.m. CT on Friday with Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith on the call on the Auburn Sports Network. Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson will handle the broadcast on truTV.Time to dance: Devan Cambridge dunks during Auburn's practice Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Time to dance! 🕺 @AuburnMBB knocking down shots before Friday's #MarchMadness matchup with Jacksonville State.
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) March 17, 2022
(Feat. @jabarismithll @icyywen @Rip_quan5 @Swdkd10 & a @DevanCambridge alley-oop, naturally.)#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/crMRuKxNhn
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer