The Auburn Tigers have advanced to the next round of the NCAA Tournament and will face the Florida Gators on Saturday. Auburn secured their spot by defeating the Michigan State Spartans 70-64 on Sunday in the Elite Eight. This Final Four matchup will not be the first time Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and Florida head coach Todd Golden have faced off this season. Florida previously defeated Auburn 90-81 during the regular season. However, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein pointed out that Golden was Pearl’s first Director of Basketball Operations in 2014, the year Pearl took the Auburn job. This will be their second meeting of the 2024-2025 season, but the two are well-acquainted.
Rothstein noted, “You want a Final Four storyline? When Bruce Pearl got the Auburn job in 2014, he hired a young kid from Columbia to be his first Director of Basketball Operations. That kid’s name? Todd Golden.” After his time at Auburn, Golden sought head coaching opportunities. He became the head coach at San Francisco from 2019 to 2022 before joining Florida for the 2022-2023 season. In his three seasons with the Gators, Golden has led them to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Florida secured their spot in the Final Four by defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 84-79 on Saturday. Following their SEC Tournament victory, the Gators entered the NCAA Tournament with momentum. Pearl has made six NCAA Tournament appearances and has one Final Four under his belt. Auburn last reached the Final Four during the 2018-2019 season under Pearl. Saturday’s Final Four game between Auburn and Florida will be broadcast live from San Antonio, Texas, with tipoff scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET on CBS.
