For the first time in its 58-year history, the race for the Associated Press men’s college basketball coach of the year award has ended in a tie. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and St. John’s Rick Pitino share the honor after each leading significant turnarounds for their programs.
Of the ballots cast by the national media panel that ranks the AP Top 25 throughout the season, Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes. Louisville coach Pat Kelsey followed with eight votes while Duke’s Jon Scheyer got five. Missouri coach Dennis Gates and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo earned three votes apiece. Two coaches rounded out the contenders with one vote each: Drake’s Ben McCollum and UC San Diego’s Eric Olen.
Pearl led Auburn to one of its best seasons in program history. The Tigers spent eight consecutive weeks at No. 1 and took home their third SEC regular-season title, their second since Pearl’s hiring in 2014. He is now the second Auburn coach to win AP coach of the year, following Cliff Ellis’ win in 1999, and becomes the first winner from the SEC since John Calipari won it at Kentucky in 2015.
Auburn entered the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed after winning 32 regular season games, the most in program history. The Tigers face Florida on Saturday in the opening game of the Final Four. The matchup marks only the second time Auburn has advanced to the semifinal round of the tournament. Pearl guided the Tigers to their first Final Four appearance (a 63-62 loss to Virginia) in 2019.
Pitino is coming off his second season at St. John’s, which saw the Red Storm secure a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Pitino led the program to 31 wins, tied for the most in program history, and a Big East regular-season title. It was St. John’s first since 2000. He is the first coach in history to lead six different teams to the NCAA Tournament, and he’s the first St. John coach to win the AP award.
After a dominant win over Omaha, St. Johns lost to No. 10 Arkansas during the Round of 32. The loss was one of the bigger upsets of this year’s tournament.
(Photo via AP)