Coach Bruce Pearl sat down with the media and couldn’t help but talk about how well his Tigers performed against Vermont.
Opening Statement…
“We played really well. The outcome and the margin really have everything to do with the respect that we have for Vermont. We took them very seriously, we prepared very seriously, and I promise you that Vermont came in with a game plan to try to win this game. I’ve been at that level. I have been there before and I know what it takes to have upsets like this. We shot it so well. We overwhelmed them with some of our athleticism and our depth. Defensively, just our rim protection. They got what they wanted. They got downhill, they got those closeouts. They just weren’t able to finish. Obviously, that was the result. I am pleased. That’s a win for Auburn against the field. That Vermont team has a chance, and should, win their league and be in the NCAA Tournament again as a 13 seed. I grew up in Boston. I know John Becker. I know his staff. I know how good they are and we were ready for them.”
On his team’s defense tonight…
“The best thing tonight is that we guarded without fouling. I thought that was so important. Now, we had a Final Four officiating crew. Two of the guys out there, Terry Oglesby and Pat Adams, were both in the Final Four last year. So, great, great crew. I do think we defended pretty well without fouling. Obviously, Saturday at Houston is going to be a completely different matchup. Different team, different size, athleticism, physicality, and so we are not celebrating this. Don’t read into it too much, other than we shot it really well and played pretty hard.”
On how much Miles Kelly is going to bring to the team’s offense…
“Look, he is an NBA caliber 3-point shooter. If he sees it, he can make it. Vermont probably didn’t have a lot of scouting on Miles Kelly, probably looked at some stuff he did back at Georgia Tech. It was not like we got him great shots. He was shooting from anywhere. I thought he had one from Opelika one time, but he was open, so he shot it.”
