Bruce Pearl will have a chance to make history against Texas.

A victory would put him atop the all-time wins list among Auburn men’s basketball coaches, passing legendary former coach Joel Eaves.

Pearl was asked after Saturday’s win over Missouri if he’d thought about or reflected on the opportunity to break the record, but he downplayed the occasion, shifting the focus back to Auburn’s next game.

“I will celebrate whatever we accomplish this year this summer. I’ll celebrate with my friends, my family, the Auburn Family, on the boat at Lake Martin out there on a golf course. Nobody will enjoy it more,” Pearl said. “But you know me, you have to know I’m on to Texas and on to the next one.”

The “on to the next one” mindset is unsurprising given the strength of Auburn’s Southeastern Conference schedule. Texas is considered one of Auburn’s weaker opponents in conference by comparison, but the Longhorns are still ranked 43rd in KenPom’s efficiency ratings and will be a Quad I road game for Auburn.

While Pearl isn’t making a big deal of the record, his players reflected on the significance of it.

“We’re definitely going to make sure he gets that win tomorrow so he can be in the history books. That’s definitely big. That’s important to us,” said Auburn star center Johni Broome. “He’s going to say it’s not important to him, but we want to still let him get it this next game.”

Dylan Cardwell, the second-winningest player in Auburn history, joked about his role in getting Pearl to the milestone.

“It means the world to have that opportunity — an opportunity to be part of history. Saying that I helped Coach Pearl win the majority of his games,” Cardwell said while laughing. “No, but it means the world to me to have a chance to be part of history, a small footnote in the history books. It means so much to me to have a part of something so special. Coach Pearl means the world to me. I’m grateful he’s an Auburn guy. He transformed Auburn basketball, for sure.”

That transformation meant taking a program that went 64-92 in the five seasons before he arrived to achievements and a level of consistency never before seen in the program’s history.

Since taking the job in 2014, Pearl has led Auburn to five NCAA tournaments, two SEC regular season championships, two SEC tournament championships and one Final Four.

The 2024-2025 Auburn team might even be his best yet, currently holding a 13-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in KenPom, EvanMiya and the NCAA NET rankings.

Time will tell what this team can accomplish. But when Auburn takes the floor in Austin Tuesday night, Pearl will be just 40 minutes away from etching his name in Auburn history forever.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m