Outright champions: Bruce Pearl, Auburn continue to make history
AUBURN – For the fifth time in the history of Auburn basketball, the Tigers are SEC regular season champions.
The Tigers (27-4, 15-3) defeated South Carolina 82-71 on Saturday to make the outright title official. The win gives Bruce Pearl his second SEC regular season championship at Auburn after leading the 2017-18 team to a share of the title with Tennessee. The Tigers had already earned a share of the title by defeating Mississippi State earlier in the week.
“They’ve been locked in,” Bruce Pearl said. “We had to work this group so hard, so early, to get them good because of the tough schedule and so many new pieces. It’s been a rewarding year having won this regular season.”
They join the 1928, 1960, 1999 and 2018 Auburn teams that claimed regular season titles.
It’s already the third-most single-season wins by an Auburn team in program history. The 1998-99 team won 29 games, while the 2018-19 Final Four team finished with 30 wins. Auburn still has the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament ahead of them.
Auburn was picked to finish fifth in the SEC standings by the media preseason. Kentucky was the favorite to win the regular season title, followed by Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.
This marks Bruce Pearl’s seventh conference championship during his 18-year career at Milwaukee, Tennessee and Auburn. For the first time in Pearl’s career, his team won 15 conference games. Pearl led teams to 14 conference wins at Tennessee and Auburn (once each).
Bruce Pearl becomes just the 10th coach in SEC history to win three or more SEC championships. Pearl also won in 2008 with Tennessee. He is the first Auburn coach with two SEC titles.
The Tigers’ win improved their home record to 16-0 on the season – the first undefeated season in Auburn/Neville Arena’s 12-year history. Twice the Tigers lost just one home game, both under Pearl.
Auburn’s success this season marks an incredible five-year run for the basketball program. The Tigers’ 121 total wins is tops in the league over the last five seasons. In the history of the program, Auburn had one 25-win season. That came during the 1998-99 season.
RELATED: Walker Kessler finalist for nation’s top center award
In the last five seasons, the Tigers have hit the 25-win mark four times.
