ATLANTA, Ga. (EETV) - Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl has been named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club Friday.
Pearl is among 10 coaches selected for the annual award and is joined by fellow SEC coach Rick Barnes of Tennessee.
Pearl has led No. 12 Auburn to first place in the SEC with a 12-3 conference record this season. Entering the season, the Tigers were projected to finish ninth in the SEC.
The Tigers are currently one win away from earning a part of the SEC regular-season title. Auburn could claim a share of the title Saturday if they defeat Florida on the road.
Auburn is currently 24-4 on the season, tying the second-most wins in program history.
Pearl, the 2006 National Coach of the Year, has coached the Tigers into the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2003. Auburn has been ranked for seven consecutive weeks.
The other 8 coaches named semifinalists are: Chris Beard (Texas Tech), Tony Bennett (Virginia), Brad Brownell (Clemson), Mick Cronin (Cincinnati), Chris Holtmann (Ohio State), Chris Mack (Xavier), Matt Painter (Purdue), and Jay Wright (Villanova).
The Naismith Awards master voting academy will select four finalists from the list of 10. The four finalists will be announced March 15.
Fans will be able to vote for one of the finalists on naismithtrophy.com/vote between March 19-30. The fan vote will account for five percent of the final tally.
The Award will be announced April 1 during the Naismith Awards brunch in San, Antonio, Texas.
