By PATRICK WALSH
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — When talking about faith in the collegiate coaching landscape, it is hard to look away from Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl.
Being a helper in the foundation of the Jewish Coaches Association, he is one of three Jewish coaches in the Final Four, the other being Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Florida’s Todd Golden.
“The idea was simply there weren’t that many, and I wanted to give these younger guys that were in GA positions or former players who are kind of getting started a little bit of hope that they could be successful as teachers and as mentors and as ministers, in this case in the game of basketball,” Pearl said.
This year, the Tigers have weathered the storm and made it to San Antonio, winning the South Region as the top-overall seed.
Pearl’s faith has carried over to the rest of the team as well. Graduate center Dylan Cardwell noted his own faith and how it has impacted his journey.
“I’ve been on more successful, more talented teams, but the thing that sets this team apart is just our faith,” Cardwell said. “Our faith has led us to sacrifice and our pride has brought us into a team over ourselves and that’s why we are so successful.”
Cardwell is a fifth-year senior who has stuck by Pearl’s side throughout his time at Auburn.
“I want to give him his flowers now so he can still smell them. He showed me the road to be an Auburn man. He showed me it’s okay and admirable to be as open as you are about your faith.”
Auburn entered the NCAA Tournament having lost three of its last four games. Since then, the Tigers have used big runs in each of their four games, including a 39-17 run in the second half against Michigan, and a 17-0 run early against Michigan State.
When looking at the other three teams competing in San Antonio, the Tigers are the only team that has played all of the remaining teams. Advantage Auburn.
“It’s really hard to prepare for these teams and the scouts when you’ve never played them,” Cardwell said. “These coaches are watching games they’ve never seen before, whereas with all three possible opponents we have the feel of every single one of them so, it’s going to be an easier scout for our coaching staff.
Pearl is looking to avenge his 2019 Final Four defeat at the hands of eventual champion, the Virginia Cavaliers. His counterpart, Golden, is a former assistant of him at Auburn.
SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome suffered an injury in Auburn’s win over Michigan State, but will be good to go against the Gators.
Auburn and Florida will open Semifinal action at 6:09 EDT on April 5 at the Alamodome.
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