ATLANTA – Bruce Pearl had an interesting framing for overall No. 1 seed Auburn’s matchup with Michigan State on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
And by interesting, we mean utterly nonsensical.
“We’re a team made up of only one five-star (recruit),” Pearl said Saturday. “One of the things I reminded my guys of, there are several guys on the Michigan State roster that are McDonald’s All-Americans. I have one, and that’s Tahaad Pettiford. He’s pretty good.
“Most of our guys are guys that were mid-major (transfers) or junior college or Division II. I’m not going to let Michigan State play the underdog card even though we’re the No. 1 seed and they’re the No. 2 seed. No, they’re Michigan State. They’re Kansas, they’re Duke, they’re North Carolina, and we’re Auburn. We know our place.”
These blatant mind games are disingenuous on multiple levels, but that’s no surprise. We are talking about Pearl, after all, who has been the sport’s preeminent carnival barker (in addition, of course, to being a great coach) since he hit the big time 20 years ago.
Still, it’s worth pointing out that Auburn is rated higher than Michigan State in the predictive metrics like KenPom.com (No. 4 versus No. 7) and the Torvik ratings (No. 3 versus No. 12). The oddsmakers have made Auburn a 4½-point favorite. And as far as the McDonald’s All-American hit, he’s wrong about that one, too.
The Spartans have two former Burger Boys on the roster, and one of them – Xavier Booker – averages 12.8 minutes and didn’t even play in their Sweet 16 victory over Ole Miss.
And while it’s true that Auburn’s roster is heavily influenced by transfers from places like Morehead State (Johni Broome), Florida International (Denver Jones) and Alabama-Huntsville (Chaney Johnson), Pearl can’t exactly play the poverty card when it comes to recruiting. Since 2020, he’s had five former McDonald’s All-Americans in his program while Izzo has had just three.
So the idea that Auburn, a team that stands at 31-5 and mowed down arguably the toughest regular season schedule in the history of the sport, has now flipped to underdog status is ridiculous on its face. And in response, Izzo brought out an old story from his time as a 28-year old assistant when former Spartans great Kevin Willis was trying to get out of class.
“I remember (then-MSU coach Jud Heathcote) saying, ‘Kevin, I’ve been conned by the very best in the world. So don’t try it.’”
One of the great things about Izzo is that, even if he can come off at times as a whiny old guy lamenting how much better things used to be in college basketball, he’ll always give it to you straight.
And he’s secure enough in who he is as a coach that he doesn’t need to lower himself to engage in head games or misdirection. Because it’s all baloney.
“Listen, Bruce and I are friends,” Izzo said. “We’ve been friends since he was (a young assistant) at Iowa. He’s done an incredible job there. I’ve been through so many of these, I’ve been the 2 seed got beat by a 15. I’ve been a No. 1 seed that hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend. So I don’t buy any of that stuff. But if it makes him feel better, I’ll be the favorite. Whatever they want me to be, I’ll be, but the game will be won by the players. Not the bettors, not the media, not even the coaches. The game will be won by the players who play the game.”
In other words, when it comes down to one 40-minute basketball game with a chance to reach the Final Four, none of that stuff matters. The expectations, the pedigree of the program, how many stars the recruiting analysts gave players two or three years ago – it’s all irrelevant.
The simple test is this: Would you rather have Auburn’s roster or Michigan State’s roster to play this game? And would you rather play it in Atlanta or Detroit?
On both counts, advantage Tigers – everywhere except in the vicinity of Pearl’s lying lips.
“Auburn. Auburn,” Pearl insisted when he was asked directly who the underdog is in this game. “This is the third time in our history we’ve gone to the Elite Eight. This is uncharted water for us. We’re talking about Michigan State. We’re talking about Tom Izzo.”
And that’s where, to be slightly fair to Pearl, you can do enough mental gymnastics to at least find an advantage for Michigan State. Izzo is 8-2 in Elite Eight games. He specializes in these exact scenarios, particularly in the short 40-hour turnaround coaching staffs have to navigate to get a team prepared for a completely different opponent than the one they played in the Sweet 16.
Pearl is just 1-1 in Elite Eight games, and that loss came in 2010 when his Tennessee team lost to Michigan State 70-69.
So, yes, Izzo’s experience in these scenarios matters. And if Michigan State pulls the upset – yes, upset – we will get a whole week of “Izzo did it again” storylines after it looked like his program had declined a bit the previous four years.
But it’s strange that Pearl believes he needs to pump up his team by sending a message that Michigan State is the big bully on the block this time. All season long, Auburn was right around the No. 1 ranking and seemed to take great pride in being college basketball’s best team.
Now, suddenly, they’re the Little Sisters of the Poor playing against a so-called blueblood that hasn’t won a national title in 25 years and mostly recruits from the bottom end of the top-50?
It doesn’t make sense. But it also isn’t going make much difference, other than giving Izzo a reason to laugh.
“You get to this point, there are no underdogs,” Izzo said. “If he wants to make us a favorite, I’m cool with that. And he wants to make us an underdog, I’ve been in that role before, too. I think that’s the advantage of being where I’ve been. I don’t know if seed matters. I don’t know if the underdog matters. I think the players matter. The players play the game.”