KNOXVILLE — When the Tennessee men’s basketball team takes the floor Saturday, it will be against Auburn on the Plains Saturday at noon.
The matchup is always interesting any time the Volunteers and Tigers tangle on the hardwood because former UT head coach Bruce Pearl is on the opposing sideline.
Pearl replaced Buzz Peterson as the Vols’ head coach in 2005 and immediately made basketball relevant on Rocky Top again.
With his sometimes larger-than-life personality and a passion for the game and the university, Pearl injected life into a basketball program at a tradition-rich football school.
Pearl won big games, took Tennessee to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship in 2008.
But all good things come to an end. Tennessee dismissed Pearl following the 2010-11 season after recruiting violations netted the coach a show-cause penalty from the NCAA.
Tennessee’s basketball program immediately went back into obscurity as it hired Cuonzo Martin, who took the Vols to the Sweet 16 after winning a play-in game in 2014 before bolting for California. Donnie Tyndall replaced Martin, but was relieved of his duties after one season due to NCAA infractions.
Enter Rick Barnes.
Barnes took the Vols to the Sweet 16 last season and finally has Tennessee relevant in basketball again. But the Big Orange has had its share of struggles this season with a 15-11 overall record. And the Vols at 7-6 in the SEC are on the NCAA Tournament bubble at best.
They need a win over the Tigers (22-4, 9-4) Saturday, but Barnes hasn’t exactly been successful in recent head-to-head battles against Pearl.
The two coaches have met 10 times with Pearl holding a 6-4 edge thanks to Auburn winning the last three meetings against the Vols, including last year’s SEC Tournament championship game.
Tennessee last beat the Tigers in 2017.
While at Tennessee, Pearl beat Barnes’ Texas teams in 2005 and 2006 when the Longhorns’ roster included names like Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Barnes and the Vols will certainly look to reverse Barnes’ fortunes against a one-time favorite son on Rocky Top.