Bruce Pearl in fiery pre-game speech ahead of Kentucky matchup: 'The championship is going through Auburn'

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is well known as being one of the most intense coaches in all of sports. The man doesn’t exactly need any coffee or Red Bull to get him amped up to coach a basketball game.

So, it was no surprise on Saturday ahead of his team’s matchup vs. the Kentucky Wildcats, Pearl delivered yet another fiery pre-game speech to charge his players up before the big game.

Bruce Pearl is FIRED UP 🗣️ @AuburnMBB pic.twitter.com/aPbO8F4xF5

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 17, 2024

“If we play hard every night. If we bring it every night. I don’t know if this team is gonna be the champion of the SEC. But that’s what we’re playing for tonight. The championship. I don’t know if we’re gonna win it, but the championship is going through Auburn. Alright?! And you’re going to be way better than Auburn to win this championship. It starts today. Here we go!” Pearl yelled on Saturday night.

While Pearl’s speech was fiery and passionate, none of that mattered between the lines, because the Kentucky Wildcats put on a defensive clinic in front of the Auburn crowd.

Kentucky controlled much of the contest vs. Auburn. The Tigers attempted to battle back on several occasions, but every time they hit a few shots to get back in the game, the Wildcats made the critical buckets they needed to keep their distance.

The Tigers were shorthanded in the second half, after star forward Jaylin Williams went down with what appeared to be a serious right knee injury. He’ll have an MRI on Sunday to confirm the diagnosis.

Antonio Reeves has been averaging 19.4 points per game for Kentucky and he played big in the massive road win. He poured in 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in their 70-59 win. It was Kentucky’s first win at Auburn since 2019.

Kentucky had one of their best defensive performances of the season, limiting Auburn to just 18.2% shooting from three-point range (4-22) and just 30.9% from the field (17-55). With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 20-6 overall and 9-4 in the SEC. Kentucky improved to 18-7 overall and 8-4 in the SEC.

Auburn had just come off a 40-point thrashing of the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday. Next up, the Tigers will look to regroup as they face off against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, February 24th. That one is slated for 6:00 PM.