Auburn’s Bruce Pearl opens up about facing ex-assistant coach in Final Four

When Bruce Pearl's No. 1 seed Auburn Tigers take on the No. 1 seed Florida Gators on Saturday, the game will be close to home for the coach. The Gators are coached by Pearl's former assistant Todd Golden.

During his chat on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday, the Tigers coach was asked if it would be weird seeing Golden on the other side.

“It is, because the relationship is that close,” Pearl said (via On3). “But if we have to play each other, let’s do it for a championship, you know? I’m so proud of Todd and so happy for him.”

Pearl then went into the details, describing the Gators and their roster depth.

“Paul, I’ve been saying for the last two months that I’ve thought that Florida was the best team in the country,” Pearl said. “I thought that they were playing better than anybody. They’ve got an incredibly deep front line.

"They’ve got the best point guard on the floor almost every single night in Walter Clayton. Their wings, (Alijah) Martin and (Will) Richard, can really score. They’re big. And Todd does a great job coaching. This is going to be a great, great challenge for us.”

After playing for four years in college at Saint Mary's from 2004 to 2008, Todd Golden spent two seasons with the Maccabi Haifa. He returned home and first worked as an assistant coach at the Columbia Lions before moving to Auburn in 2014.

He spent the first season with Bruce Pearl as the director of basketball operations and was then promoted to assistant coach. Todd Golden took over Florida in 2022 and this year is his second stint in March Madness.

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Bruce Pearl comments on his team's opponents in the Final Four matchup

For the first time since 2008, all four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four. While Auburn and Florida battle it out for a finals spot, Duke and Houston will play each other for the same.

Bruce Pearl commented on the four teams in the same interview on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday.

“Right now I believe you have the four best teams in college basketball. Yeah, they were all No. 1s. But I don’t think there’s a single team outside of these four that you would want to make an argument saying, ‘No, no, they’re one of the top four teams.’

"I don’t think there’s a fifth team out there that you can make that argument for. These are the best four teams left,” he said.

The last time Auburn played in the Final Four was in 2019. The Tigers will hope to extend their run and finally win the program's first national championship.