Skip to main content
Join
Team Avatar
Auburn

WATCH: Bruce Pearl makes wish after Auburn fans sing 'Happy Birthday'

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•03/18/22•

Jonathan Wagner

On3 image
Michael Chang/Getty Images

Friday is a big day for Auburn men’s basketball. The Tigers face off against Jacksonville State in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament, and it is also Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl’s birthday.

As Pearl and Auburn left the team hotel to head to the arena in Greenville, South Carolina, Tigers fans crowded outside and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Pearl as he walked towards the bus. Once the fans were done singing, Pearl got everybody’s attention and made one simple birthday wish.

“All I want for my birthday is a big fat W!” Pearl exclaimed.

Auburn and Jacksonville State tip off at 12:40 p.m. ET on Friday. The Tigers are a heavy favorite in the game, but Pearl knows that it will take some serious work to come away with a victory on his birthday.

Auburn fans have watched a special team that Pearl put together

Throughout the season, Auburn has been one of the top teams in the entire country. The Tigers went 27-5 overall and 15-3 in SEC play this season. All year long, Auburn fans have watched two of the best players in the country in Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.

But in addition to Kessler and Smith, Pearl put together a talented team that has really meshed well together. In addition to targeting talented players, Pearl put this Auburn team together by going after guys who fit into the culture that he pictured. And it’s worked.

“I think the key was just because, when we recruited them, we recruited a certain culture in our locker room, and I promised Jabari or Walker that I’d surround them with great kids, that they would make lifelong friends, and they liked each other, and they got close,” Pearl said. “There’s a real advantage to living in a great dorm and being around each other all the time. Then on the court, they went and competed and tried to compete for positions and playing time and roles. So we got after each other all summer long and obviously put it together in the fall.”

Auburn lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, but the Tigers still earned the Midwest Region’s second seed in the NCAA Tournament. While 15th-seeded Jacksonville State is the underdog, Pearl is also trying to maintain the underdog mentality that he prefers to play under in the postseason.