Bruce Pearl claims the SEC will have 'the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball'

The Auburn Tigers wrapped up their non-conference schedule on Monday with a dominant win over Monmouth. That left the Tigers at 12-1 overall and it gave head coach Bruce Pearl confidence going into the SEC schedule.

As Pearl explained following the Monmouth game, he felt that the non-conference schedule was the toughest that Auburn has ever seen. That could be a benefit to the Tigers, though, as it will have helped to prepare them for the toughest that the SEC slate has ever been too.

“Wrapping up a non-conference schedule,” Bruce Pearl said. “It was the toughest non-conference schedule in the history of Auburn basketball, and we lost one game at Duke in a close game. So, I’m very, very proud of our kids. A lot of the games we played were on neutral sites and away from home, so we demonstrated that we can win away from Neville [Arena]. Now, we get ready to start the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball.”

In the non-conference schedule, Auburn played six home games, six neutral site games, and one true road game. That road game, against Duke, the Tigers lost. They would go on to win the Maui Invitational for 2024, with wins over Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis there. Purdue and Houston also ended up being marquee wins for the Tigers at neutral sites in their non-conference schedule.

Going into the 2025 calendar year, 10 different SEC teams are ranked in the current AP Poll. Another two are also receiving votes. On top of that, in ESPN’s latest bracketology, there are 13 SEC teams projected to make it to the NCAA Tournament, showing just how deep the conference is this season.

“Like, there’s maybe never been a league like this, and it’s going to be, the strong are literally going to be the only ones who are going to survive. Hungry, healthy, humble is the way to get through it. Matchups are going to matter. We’re going to lose games,” Pearl said. “But we can’t let a loss affect us the next time out. We’ve got to be beat instead of beating ourselves. But we’re healthy and we’re ready.”

For Bruce Pearl and Auburn, the SEC slate begins on Saturday when the Tigers host Missouri. From there, they’ll have their first road test on January 7th against new SEC school Texas. A week after that, Mississippi State represents Auburn’s first currently ranked conference opponent.