Auburn didn’t just beat Kentucky; They completely demolished them! Bruce Pearl’s Tigers, headed towards March at the speed of light, put on an absolute three-point shooting clinic. In their 94-78 triumph, they shot 12-26 from beyond the arc. What’s even more impressive, however, is that Miles Kelly accounted for nine of those threes in his career-high 30-point performance. Everybody knew this was coming. Kentucky, even with all its hopes and dreams, was not about to beat Auburn, even in their own home!

The Tigers shot the living daylights out of the ball, and they deserved the win that they got! With this victory, they tasted success in Lexington for the first time since 1988. They successfully broke their 37-year losing streak there and interestingly, Kentucky, which had beaten Auburn 21 times straight previously, could only lead for 19 seconds this time.

“This is obviously historic,” Bruce Pearl said after Auburn’s win. “Two wins and 31 losses in 33 tries. And for this one to be for a championship? It’s what we do it for: To make history.” However, there was an unexpected drawback for Bruce Pearl and his team, even in a victory that had the other 67 teams headed to March taking notice.

On The Field of 68 on YouTube witnessed its After Dark show hosts, Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman analyze the one-sided victory through a different lens. Dauster stated: “My single biggest takeaway from this game was that my take about Auburn was right. If you want to find a way to beat them, you’ve got to shut the water off for all of those other guys on the perimeter, right? You got to find a way to be able to force Auburn to run their offense through Johni Broome in the post, instead of letting these guards get going.”

Yes, you heard that right! Dauster said that the best way to stop Auburn’s sheer dominance is to force the ball to their best player. While the idea sounds ludicrous on the surface, it makes sense through deeper analysis. The guard play that Auburn showed up with was truly something different. Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly, and Tahaad Pettiford dominated the game by themselves.

According to Dauster, the chances of Auburn being this explosive go down when their game revolves around the post. “I think the most inefficient thing that Auburn can do offensively is throw the ball to Johni Broome on the block and try to let him go one-on-one. And he’s still good at it, but that’s the only thing that they do where they’re not great and they’re not super explosive.”

Their dominance on the perimeter led to a lot more destruction than post-play ever would. Even in successful plays, their scoring would taper down to two points per possession.

Nevertheless, even with Mark Pope’s team finding this out, their loss still stung. But the 67 NCAA could perhaps use this to have an edge over Pearl’s team.

But Bruce Pearl’s brilliance cannot be understated, either. He transformed Auburn completely during his time at the school, but rumors kept floating by about a change in location.

Is Bruce Pearl going to Bloomington?

Any time a head coach opening is announced, the first name to pop up is Bruce Pearl. It’s not surprising either, considering the level of success he achieved with Auburn over the years. When he joined the university, they were a genuinely poor-performing team. To take them to a Final Four appearance and to win two SEC tournaments is a big deal.

Even when John Calipari left the Big Blue Nation, Pearl’s name popped up for the job. In a tweet by a 247sports.com reporter, it was revealed that the head coach had prepared a one-liner for the press interview in case he had lost:

“Every time y’all have an opening, my name comes up. Why would you want me as a coach when I can’t win at Rupp?”

After this season, the college basketball coaching landscape is about to become very complicated. The great Mike Woodson from Indiana has announced his retirement and the Hoosiers are looking for a replacement. And they’ve got their eyes set on Pearl. However, it may not work out the way the Hoosiers want it to.

There was a time in his life when he would have loved to coach the Indiana team, but it was not to be. Bob Knight was an inspiration to him, and he loved the state and the school, calling it his dream job at one point. The issue that the Hoosiers might face is this: Bruce Pearl loves where he is now.

So to answer the question of whether he is headed to Bloomington; No one really knows. It doesn’t look like he is ready to leave Auburn and the program that he built. After spending years coaching the Tigers, and now having them as number one in the nation, stepping away would not be easy.

What do you think? Will Bruce Pearl stay with Auburn? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.