In hindsight, asking for an overnight turnaround in Year One under Bruce Pearl was asking a lot. Yes, Pearl had done it before at Tennessee, but the Tennessee team he inherited from Buzz Peterson was in far better shape than the Auburn program he inherited from Tony Barbee.
Where Tennessee had made back-to-back NIT appearances in 2003-04, and was just four years removed from an NCAA Tournament appearance, Auburn... well, it's been 12 years since the Tigers have been dancing, the longest current drought in the SEC. In those 12 years, only once have they finished with a record above .