"Guard that official": When Bruce Pearl intentionally tried to delay the game when playing vs Kentucky

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl has become synonymous with the Tigers after leading them to No. 1-seed status in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and presiding over another stellar season despite falling short of the national championship after losing to the Florida Gators in the Final Four. Before Auburn, Pearl was at the helm of another SEC powerhouse, the Tennessee Volunteers, between 2005 and 2011.

During a 2020 segment of "Auburn Undercover," Pearl revealed a hilarious story from his time as Vols coach about how he dealt with an official by asking his best defensive player to mark him during a game against the Kentucky Wildcats (0:35).

"When you play in Kentucky, at Kentucky, it's always five against eight, your five players, their five players, plus their three officials," Bruce Pearl said. "It's five versus eight. That's a joke. And you know, we're getting we're getting beat pretty good, and I'm not very happy with officiating at all.

"So with about a minute left to go in the game, I call time out. We're down like 14. There's not a 14-point play. I tell my best defensive player. I said, we break this up. I want you to get out there. I want you to guard that official right there, not that guy and not that guy, that guy right over there."

Pearl further detailed how he continued to delay the game with his time outs so that Kentucky fans did not get a free meal for beating his team.

"Meanwhile, the crowd's booing, because if Kentucky wins by a certain number of points, and they can get to this burger joint in time, they're all gonna get free fries, and I'm gonna try to call time outs so they don't get their free fries because they beat Tennessee by more than 10 points, or whatever it is," Pearl said.

How did Bruce Pearl's tenure at Tennessee go?

Bruce Pearl was the Tennessee Volunteers coach for six years and, during his tenure, the program went to the Big Dance every season.The Vols were even the No. 2-seed twice. They reached two Sweet 16s and, in 2010, reached the Elite Eight and were a point away from reaching their first Final Four.

Pearl led the Vols to an overall record of 145-61, including 65 out of 96 wins in conference play. Tobias Harris, who played under Pearl's tutelage, in the 2010-11 season, was drafted 19th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats, making him the only Vols player to play under Pearl, to hear his name called at the NBA draft.

Pearl joined the Auburn Tigers in 2014, and has since enjoyed multiple trips to the Big Dance.