What Bruce Pearl said after Auburn pulled off upset of No. 5 Tennessee to close regular season

The Auburn Tigers have been up and down all year, but now they’ll enter the SEC Tournament on a four-game winning streak after taking down No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday.

The Tigers trailed at halftime, but managed to come back and beat the Vols 84-80 with an outstanding second-half effort on Senior Day.

Understandably, head coach Bruce Pearl was excited for his players, and his energy was high in his postgame press conference. Here’s what he had to say about his team’s huge regular-season finale:

On the talent of the Vols:

Bruce Pearl: "That was a great college basketball team. Tennessee is a championship program."

— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) March 9, 2019

On Chuma Okeke’s 22-point game:

Bruce Pearl on Chuma Okeke: "He took over the game against SEC Player of the Year type people in Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, and none of us were surprised."

— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) March 9, 2019

On the Vols still being a dangerous team:

Bruce Pearl: "We won't play anybody better than Tennessee in Nashville."

— Nathan King (@byNathanKing) March 9, 2019

On the Tigers’ senior class:

Bruce Pearl: "Very proud of our seniors for how far they've come in and how much they worked to become competitive and be able to be a team in the SEC that would garner respect."

— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) March 9, 2019

On the atmosphere in Auburn Arena:

Bruce Pearl on Auburn Arena's raucous crowd today: "We don't win it without the building being like it is."

— Nathan King (@byNathanKing) March 9, 2019

The Tigers are still waiting to see where they’ll be seeded in next week’s SEC Tournament. However, wherever they end up, they’re a team no one wants to see in Nashville.