Sunday afternoon, Bruce Pearl would lead the Tigers to nip the whole lot of ‘Izzo did it again’ storylines in the bud. It wasn’t the second-half team no more. The Spartans left 17 points unanswered in the first half, and soon, we were looking at history making its way to Alamodome yet again. All four No.1 seed teams in the national semi-finals only for the second time ever. Pearl may call his team the underdogs, but the Tigers have ensured to look no part. If anything, smoking hot, is how Miles Kelly describes them and the whole lot of familiarity that awaits them in the Final Four, better watch out.
No underdogs, no Cinderella runs. Just powerhouse programs getting ready to throw down. March Madness 2025 is still keeping it interesting and probably having Stephen A. Smith rethink his ‘death of college basketball’ remark. To make it even better? The task has been left to Auburn-Florida matchup— two SEC teams in the Final Four for the fifth time. But this one with a little bit of season history and then some.
When Bruce Pearl faces the Gators on the 5th of April, he won’t just be locking horns with his mentee in Todd Golden, but will also be looking to seek revenge for one of his only two losses at home this season. The game’s already intriguing, and the crew at the Field of 68 Podcast knows it. Speaking of the Final Four, Mike LaTulip pointed out, “You know, Florida came into Auburn’s building and beat them back in February. So there’s a little something added there for that particular game.”
That 90-81 loss wasn’t just a rare blemish—it halted Auburn’s dominant run and gave Florida the upper hand at a critical moment in the season. Pearl’s Tigers were stopped in their tracks as Clay Walton Jr. put up a 19-point performance and made it impossible for them to recover despite a strong second-half rally. Auburn’s 14-game winning streak was snapped in a convincing loss. Gators, on the other hand, went on the win 14 of their next 15 games.
Revenge is clearly on the menu. Auburn, led by SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome, is aiming to rewrite that February narrative. As Jeff Goodman said on the same show, “Auburn’s going to be pissed off because they lost at their place to the Gators. Neither one of these teams has been quite what we were used to seeing them as for long stretches of the season.” That defeat dropped the Tigers to 11-2 in conference play, opening the door for Florida to tighten its grip on a No. 1 seed.
But here’s the twist—since that game, Auburn has locked in. Defensively, they stepped it up, holding opponents to just over 69 points per game. They’ve turned that loss into their strength. “We are going to watch the film on how we played them earlier in the year, and I really believe we got our groove back. We are smoking hot right now and all we have to do is keep playing our brand of basketball,” Kelly reassures.
Now it’s Final Four time, and as Bruce Pearl put it himself, “Unfortunately, there will only be one SEC team playing for the National Championship.” Auburn’s determined to be that team. But an interesting fact remains. It has got to do with the familiarity again, and Rob Dauster notes the truth on the Podcast.
A familiar final four for Bruce Pearl
Despite securing his overall No.1 seed and steamrolling through the NCAA Tournament, Bruce Pearl is still keeping up with his underdog narrative. This was only the third time Auburn made it to Elite Eight and only twice has Pearl been to the Final Four. He may not be all wrong as far as his tourney history goes, but it is the truth that, with 3 of his transfers leading the team and only one 5-star recruit making the roster, the Tigers have remained the best team for a better part of the season.
They have outplayed Alabama’s fast-paced offense and so have they Houston’s slow-tempo defense. The Tigers have been the team to beat. But what adds to their case in what’s left of March Madness? Auburn’s already seen everyone in the Final Four.
NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: SEC Conference Tournament Semifinal – Tennessee vs Auburn Mar 15, 2025 Nashville, TN, USA Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl watches his team against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville Bridgestone Arena TN USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStevexRobertsx 20250315_cec_ra1_017
Rob Dauster laid it out: “Auburn has actually played each of the four teams that are in the Final Four right now. They beat Houston, obviously, on the second game of the regular season. They lost to Duke on December 4th, and then they lost to Florida at home on February 8th. I wonder if there’s ever been a Final Four where one team has played the other three teams in the Final Four before. That has to be something close to the first.”
The historical context only adds to the weight of the moment. All four No. 1 seeds haven’t made it this far together since 2008. It almost never happens. In fact, between 2008 and now, the closest the NCAA has come was in 2015, when three No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four. Not since 2016 have all four even made it to the Elite Eight.
So yes, Bruce Pearl has an old score to settle. But more than that, he has a legacy to cement. And this time, he’s not just coaching for a win—he’s coaching to set the record straight.
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