Bruce Pearl opened his Wednesday afternoon press conference with a puzzling stat as Auburn basketball prepares for the Maui Invitational next week.

The SEC’s success in Maui, for as long as the tournament has been in existence, is minimal. In fact, it’s been a while since an SEC team has won the tournament. Vanderbilt won it in 1986, and Kentucky did it in 1993.

In Auburn’s first Maui experience back in 2018, they went 2-1 defeating Xavier in the first round and Arizona in the third-place game.

The Tigers fell to Duke in the semifinal round that year and Bruce Pearl spoke on how dominant ACC programs are in that tournament.

“That tells you how hard it is to win. The ACC’s won it 11 times, or something like that. The Big Ten won it eight times,” Pearl said. But our teams have not had a ton of success out there.”

“The way I look at it is we have a chance to play three great teams on a neutral site, and really find out where we’re at, but also, potentially, help our NCAA Tournament resume, if we can be competitive.”

Ironically, the last time Auburn played in this tournament they made it all the way to the Final 4 in 2019.

Auburn starts this year’s tournament with No. 5 Iowa State and a victory will see them play No. 10 North Carolina or Dayton in the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, back-to-back national champions No. 3 UConn will matchup against Memphis and faces the winner of Colorado and Michigan State.

“It sort of reminds me a little bit about the road to the Final Four in 2019, and we looked at that as, ‘Man, somebody’s got to beat Kansas, or North Carolina, or Kentucky along the way,’” Pearl said. “You know, somebody’s got to beat Iowa State, or North Carolina, or Dayton, or UConn, somebody along the way. That’s just how we approach it. So, I’m kind of looking at it as one game at a time.”

Peal compared tournaments like this to the NCAA Tournament in March with the scheduling of all the games. However, the depth of his roster and rotations will look different with the return of Ja’Heim Hudson and Jahki Howard in the lineup after serving team suspensions.

“Because we have three games in three days, it’s a little bit like an NCAA Tournament weekend. Two games in three days in the tournament,” Pearl said.

“I think one thing that should serve us well is our depth. The fact that we’re playing, the first few games we played 11, the last couple games we played nine. I think that that helps you on the back-to-back-to-backs. I know our coaches will have great preparations.”

Senior Chad Baker-Mazara voiced how excited this opportunity is for the team. Already averaging 10.5 points per game shooting 52% from the floor, he wants to use the Maui stage as a place to show the world who the best team in the country is.

“We’re really looking forward to this. It might help us become No. 1 in the nation,” Baker-Mazara said. “That’s a goal that I personally want for us as a team, to reach No. 1 and be at the point where it’s like, OK, we’re the best. Hopefully we can hold that throughout the season.”

The Tigers open the Maui Invitational Monday, Nov. 25. with its matchup against the Cyclones and the game will be televised on ESPN U. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.