Auburn's Bruce Pearl Comfortable Being Underdog in Final Four

The Auburn Tigers head into the Final Four as the underdogs, and head coach Bruce Pearl embraces that mentality

Auburn isn't the favorite and that's OK | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Three of the teams in the Final Four come in with plenty of basketball history to their name. The exception is the Auburn Tigers. They look to make a historic push on Saturday when they take on the Florida Gators in the Final Four. 

“What I've tried to do all year long is demonstrate that this is unchartered waters for Auburn men's basketball,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “We had some great moments in our history, great coaches....No real sustained great, great success.”

Auburn’s skid at the end of the season knocked their expectations down a peg, heading into the Tournament. They were seen as an unstoppable force, being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for eight consecutive weeks. Suddenly, there were questions about whether a deep run was possible. 

Pearl is letting the noise be what it is. He thrives with a chip on his shoulder. 

“There is nothing new. I prefer the underdog role rather than having to prove that we're as good as we say we are,” Pearl said. 

Auburn seeks its first trip to the national championship game. They fell just short during their first ever appearance in the Final Four, losing to the Virginia Cavaliers 63-62. Auburn led in the final seconds of the game and let it slip. Virginia went on to win the National Championship - their first in program history.

What could have been. 

That Final Four was the inverse of this one. Apart from Michigan State, none of the teams had won a National Championship. The pressure wasn’t as high, and maybe it showed. 

Perhaps Auburn can use this different pressure as fuel to make that final push. 

Auburn and Florida face off in the Final Four in San Antonio on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5:09 p.m. CDT. 

This bout is a rematch from the regular season. Florida upset Auburn on home court on Feb. 8, 90-91, handing them, at the time, their second loss of the season.