“My guards aren’t p*ssies”: Bruce Pearl gets animated while heaping praise after Johni Broome leads Auburn vs Ole Miss

The Auburn Tigers, led by Johni Broome, advanced to the latter stages of conference postseason play after their win on Friday, March 14. As the consensus No. 1 seed in the SEC and the top-ranked team in the nation throughout the season, they rose to the occasion and defeated the Ole Miss Rebels in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

With a narrow 62-57 victory, the Bruce Pearl-coached squad moved one step closer to the conference tournament title. Much of their success in the 2024-25 season can be attributed to several factors, one of which is their adaptive defense across all five positions.

During the post-game interview, Pearl discussed the team’s defensive versatility, highlighting contributions from both big men and perimeter players. He also offered a humorous take on how his guards perform at such a high level.

"The key to our 3-point line defense is that our bigs that can go out there and guard guards," he said. "I’ve got bigs that can go out there and guard guards, and my guards aren’t p*ssies. They’re going to go down there and bang a little bit."

"ESPN and Disney aren’t writing my checks right now — Auburn is. So, I can get away with that."

The Tigers were led once again by Broome, who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting, along with one assist and one steal in 35 minutes. Senior guard Denver Jones supplemented the charge with 13 markers, two boards and two dimes in 31 minutes.

Bruce Pearl has an ultimatum for his players on defense

During the postgame media scrum in the locker room, Bruce Pearl was asked about his players’ reaction to his earlier comments. For him, it’s all about effort.

"But, we challenge them. We do, we challenge them. Some of those guys are a little older and, you got to make a choice. How badly do you want it? So, our guys recognize the way we can guard, our bigs can guard anybody, and our guards can guard anybody as well. Bodies on bodies," Pearl explained. (0:35)

The Auburn Tigers now set their sights on facing the fourth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, March 15, in the SEC tournament semifinals.