Bruce Pearl is the head coach for the Auburn basketball team, but he recently weighed in on the debate of who has the better football conference, the Big Ten or the SEC. Before the 2023 season, the SEC had won four national championships in a row, but the Big Ten has now won the last two. Michigan won it in 2023, and Ohio State won it this past season. However, Pearl still gives the nod to the SEC as a whole.
The Big Ten ended up finishing with three teams ranked inside the top five, but Bruce Pearl still believes that the SEC is the best conference from top to bottom.
“Top to bottom, Big Ten football is not as strong as the SEC,” Pearl said, according to an article from On3. “Go to Mississippi State when they’re having a bad year, and half your kids are in the hospital when you leave the game. It is every single night. I thought our SEC football teams were exhausted.”
Pearl thinks that every week in the SEC is a challenge, but he doesn’t feel the same way about Big Ten football.
“Now, you’re at Ohio State, or you’re at Penn State — two teams that got deep into the playoffs… They only had two or three games on the entire schedule that were like about seven or eight games for Ole Miss or Alabama or Auburn, or any of the SEC teams,” Pearl continued. “And I think those football guys were exhausted.”
Pearl also spent some time discussing how these conference dynamics play into college basketball as well. He noted teams like Gonzaga and Memphis who don’t have to play a lot of good teams in conference play.
“Memphis and Gonzaga, those two teams, are sort of putting up with their conferences [through] January, February, and all they’re thinking is about March,” Pearl added. “They’re so excited.”
Some people think that these teams don’t fare well in March because of the fact that they haven’t been battle-tested, but Pearl thinks they might actually have an advantage, as they aren’t worn out from a grueling conference slate.
“By the time they get to March, and they’re playing against great teams they’ve been watching on TV all year long with something to prove because nobody’s been talking about Memphis, and people are sick and tired of hearing about Auburn, Alabama, Florida and all these great SEC teams,” Pearl continued. “There’s something to that.”
Bruce Pearl and the Auburn basketball team haven’t shown any signs of being worn out yet as they are currently the #1 team in the country. The Tigers are having an outstanding season, and they seem poised for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
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