Bruce Pearl shares how he thinks Miami will try to slow down Auburn offense

After Auburn took care of business against 15-seed Jacksonville State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, Bruce Pearl and his staff made a quick pivot to Miami. The veteran head coach took time to break down how he believes the Hurricanes can cause problems in the Second Round.

During a press conference, Bruce Pearl shared what he saw from the Miami defense on tape, and how he believes the Hurricanes will look to slow down the Auburn offense on Sunday.

“They switch like crazy,” said Pearl. “They double the post, they turn you over before you get a shot. Again, they just make plays. They’re sunk into the paint, and they’re going to have it all packed in. If you go in there and try to get in the lane, they’re stripping and ripping. If you go in there and spin back the other way, they’re coming off.

“So obviously, they’re going to look at our shooting percentages in half-court, and they’re like, man. Every time Walker rolls to the rim, there’s going to be three guys in there tagging him. We’re going to have to — again, they’re going to force us to make some shots from the perimeter, and we’ll have to make those to win.”

Bruce Pearl on Miami gameplan

Bruce Pearl also acknowledged the key role each of his assistant coaches, and Auburn’s support staff, play in preparation during the NCAA Tournament with one known opponent and two potential opponents just two days later each weekend.

“So what we’ve always done – and this has been a really good system – I have three full-time assistants, Ira Bowman, Wes Flanigan, and Steven Pearl, each of them have scouting teams,” said Pearl. “Those teams are made up of my Director of Basketball Operations, my Assistant Director of Basketball Operations, graduate assistants, managers. So Wes Flanigan and his team, along with Chad Pruitt, had Jacksonville State. Steven Pearl’s team had USC. Ira Bowman’s team had Miami.

“Those two-thirds of my staff was not at all worried about our opening opponent. So we were working really, really hard for Miami as a staff. I wasn’t, right? I took a peek at both teams early in the week just to look at them, just to see them.”

With Wes Flanigan’s gameplan a success, the Ira Bowman gameplan now goes into effect as the staff prepares the players for what comes next.