Bruce Pearl goes full locker room talk on ESPN interview: ‘My guards aren’t p—–s’

Bruce Pearl was feeling good after Auburn’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal win over Ole Miss, even as the Tigers sweated out a 62-57 win to the final buzzer.

The good news is Auburn did get the big buckets and key stops late in the game to hold on. And the 3-point defense of the Tigers was a major key, holding the Rebels to 4-for-23 (17.4%) from deep in the victory.

After the game, Pearl joined the ESPN crew in Nashville to discuss his team, including that 3-point defense. The head coach relished the moment, even dropping a colorful description of his team to make his point:

“The key to our 3-point defense is I’ve got bigs that can go out there and guard guards. I’ve got bigs that can guard guards, and my guards aren’t p—–s,” Pearl exclaimed to shocked looks and a round of laughter from the ESPN crew.

“They’re willing to go down there and bang a little bit — you know that,” Pearl said to Johni Broome who joined the coach on set.

“That’s good to know,” echoed ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.

Here’s the full clip:

We’ll see if the head coach has to shell out for a potential fine after that. For now, Auburn is safely through into Saturday’s semifinals where the Tigers will face the winner of Tennessee vs. Texas with March Madness right around the corner.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.