Paul Finebaum: Bruce Pearl does not need to win championship to solidify Auburn legacy

Paul Finebaum believes Bruce Pearl has already done enough in his career at Auburn to make him one of the greatest coaches in school history. The results of this upcoming weekend won’t change that, win or lose.

Pearl has the Tigers back in the Final Four this season after taking them there for the first time ever in 2019. Auburn fell short of reaching the championship game that year, but now the coach has a second chance to add a title to his long list of achievements.

That would surely end any argument that he is the best coach in program history. But even if a trophy again eludes Pearl in this season’s tournament, Finebaum thinks he still might hold that title.

“I think getting there again is really just the cherry on top of the cake,” the SEC Network analyst said in an appearance on McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning. “He is one of the most important figures in the history of Auburn. He’s done it from scratch, too. He was (given) incredibly damaged goods when the decision was made 11 years ago to bring him in. A championship, of course, would enhance that. But I don’t think it’s even necessary.”

Pearl is already the winningest coach in Auburn history with a 246-124 all-time record. He took over in the 2014-15 season for a team that at that point hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament in 11 seasons.

That streak extended through the first three years of Pearl’s tenure before the team finally broke through in 2018, finishing with a 26-8 record and earning a No. 4 seed in the tournament. The Tigers would lose in the second round, but followed up in 2019 with their first Final Four appearance in program history in 2019.

Auburn has made six of the past seven NCAA Tournaments and its 32 wins this season are the most in program history. Finebaum argued that is already enough to put Bruce Pearl No. 1, saying that a championship isn’t as important in basketball as it is in football for determining greatness.

“This is not exactly apples to apples when we’re talking Alabama football or Auburn football,” Finebaum said. “Auburn basketball, which was so far down, and his story is so remarkable as a personality. He’s infectious. A lot of coaches have been to one Final Four, but some of them are really not that memorable. Getting to two is significant.

“Winning a championship is even better. But to me, he doesn’t need to do anything else. He’s already cemented his place in Auburn history and, quite frankly, SEC basketball history.”