Steven Pearl Previews Auburn’s NIT Semifinals Matchup Against Illinois State

Though the Auburn Tigers have not exactly had the season of dreams, the chance still exists for the team to walk away from the season with a postseason tournament win. However, they will have to get through two more teams if they are looking to fully salvage a disappointing first year from Steven Pearl.

The first of these teams for the Tigers is the Illinois State Redbirds, who are 23-12 on the season and coming off a 61-55 win against Dayton. On Monday, Pearl sat down with the press to preview the Tigers’ upcoming matchup.

“Good to still be playing basketball,” Pearl said. “Excited for the opportunity to go up to [Indianapolis] and play another quality team on ESPN… bit of a wait to get to Thursday night, but it’s been good for our guys to get their legs back and take a couple of days off.”

We have our matchup ✅ pic.twitter.com/DfBYwb8sZx
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 26, 2026

Though the Redbirds are probably not the team many think of when thinking of top-level basketball programs, Pearl warned the press not to sleep on the team from the Missouri Valley Conference.

“If you look at the resumes of the teams in the NIT, [Illinois State] by far has the best one,” Pearl said. “20-point victory over Kent State, and then to go on the road and get back-to-back Quad 1 wins against Wake Forest and Dayton, had Dayton down 20 in a sold-out venue, just speaks to the level they’re playing at right now.”

Pearl emphasized many aspects of the Redbirds that he is keeping an eye on as he works his team in practice, though none quite as much as their defensive tenacity.

“They’re kind of like Seattle, in that they make multiple efforts,” Pearl said. “They’re very physical at the point of attack, they do a great job of contesting without fouling… They’ll mix up their coverages a little bit, so they’re versatile in what they do.”

Depth has been a major concern for this year’s Auburn team, as only eight players have averaged 10 minutes or more per game, while the Redbirds have managed to vary their rotation in a way that 10 different players are averaging 10 or more minutes per game.

Additionally, Illinois State has four players who are shooting 39 percent or better from 3-point range this season, a factor that has aided them throughout an impressive NIT run.

“They stay fresh,” Pearl said. “It’s a team that can get hot and score in bunches, so it’s really important that we recognize who the shooters are. We can’t give bad help off of those shooters and we have to carry a high hand.”

Despite Illinois State’s prowess, the Tigers have been projected to have an 80.7 percent chance to win, per ESPN. However, it seems like just about anything can happen in the postseason, so the Tigers will have to be on their guard if they want to avoid a major upset.