The Auburn Tigers rode the positive vibes of an SEC Tournament championship into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. However, morale quickly dropped as the Yale Bulldogs defeated Auburn, 78-76, in the first round to force the championship-minded Tigers’ season to end abruptly.
That was the moment Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl knew a change needed to be made. He would need to build a stronger non-conference slate to prepare his squad for a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament.
Pearl further proved that his idea continues to work on Saturday as the No. 2 Tigers smashed the No. 17 Purdue Boilermakers at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, 87-69. The win moves Auburn to an impressive 11-1 record on the season, with six of those wins coming against “quad-1” competition. Auburn is also 4-1 against teams ranked in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Following Saturday’s win, Pearl addressed the risk of playing a challenging non-conference schedule but is pleased with the way his squad has handled it to this point.
“We beat a good basketball team (in Purdue), but we beat a great basketball program,” Pearl said Saturday. “I’m really proud of our league. I was concerned about the toughness of our schedule. If we couldn’t handle it, we could’ve hurt our league. But we didn’t. We helped our league, and that matters to me a great deal.”
Auburn bested Purdue through strong defensive play. The Boilermakers were limited to 39% shooting from the field and 35% from three-point territory. Auburn turned 12 Purdue turnovers into 23 points, and won the defensive rebound battle, 27-20.
Pearl says its game plan for Purdue was executed positively.
“You can control your outcome with how you defend,” Pearl said. “I just thought we did a better job of making it difficult for Purdue They’re better from 3 than they are from 2. We made them make tough 2s. They made some, but they missed enough.”
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Auburn holds the No. 11 toughest schedule and has the 10th-toughest non-conference schedule. Their 11-1 record against their slate to this point is the best in the nation. Auburn will take a small break before playing one final non-conference game on Dec. 30 against Monmouth at Neville Arena in Auburn. The SEC portion of the slate begins Jan. 4 at home vs. Missouri.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn’s win over Purdue is a win for the SEC says Bruce Pearl
