SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino were honored by The Associated Press with the Men’s College Basketball Coach of the Year Award, as announced at the NCAA Men’s Final Four on Friday.
Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of the AP award.
Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville’s Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Duke’s Jon Scheyer five.
Led by two-time All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent eight-straight weeks at No. 1 this season, earned the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Final Four for the second time in program history next to the team’s 2019 run.
Pearl joins Cliff Ellis in 1999 as the only Auburn men’s basketball coaches to win AP Coach of the Year honors. He is the first SEC coach to win the award since Kentucky’s John Calipari 10 years ago.