MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. | The NCAA on Friday mandated that Auburn open its locker room for 30 minutes prior to its practice inside the U.S. Bank Center.

Things were easy for players as reporters dutifully searched the room for interesting quotes and stories. Field questions, provide answers. Yet in the back corner of the locker room, far away from the cameras and unnoticed aside from a few reporters, sat three men charged with developing the Tigers' basketball strategy at the Final Four — assistant coach Steven Pearl, assistant coach Wes Flanagan and director of operation Chad Prewett.

Prewett was on his laptop watching film of Texas Tech. If the Tigers dispatch Virginia Saturday night, there will be precious little time to develop a plan for the Red Raiders. Prewett much be ready to provide head coach Bruce Pearl a trove of information and ideas about how to manage that final challenge.

"When I was coaching high-school ball, I always taught my players to understand their role and accept their role and understand how that role fit into what we do as a team," Prewett said Friday. "Now I follow that same advice. I have a role and I'm doing what I can to help this team win."

Auburn's 12-game win streak, which has catapulted them from a No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament to the national semifinals, has become one of the biggest national stories of the season. The Tigers' swashbuckling ways creates excitement. Pearl, of course, is the ultimate marketer with a million-dollar smile. Yet the Tigers aren't here without keen scouting, thoughtful strategy and appropriate execution.

That's where Auburn's support staff excels.

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Scouting reports are generated by three squads — one led by Steven Pearl, one led by Prewett and another led by Flanagan. Assistant director of operations Mike Burgomaster and graduate assistant Marquis Daniels are frequent collaborators. The squad that scouts the Tigers' current opponent presents an objective report to Pearl, who then reviews a curated supply of video clips over a period of a few hours or sometimes days. Suggested strategies are included as well.

"I'm always going to listen to what my assistants have to say about strategy," Pearl said recently. "They have earned my respect. At the same time, that doesn't mean I follow every suggestion. I listen to what they say and I make my own decisions. That's my job as a head coach."

Prewett understands the difference.

Six years ago, Prewett was crestfallen after his Lee-Scott Academy girls team lost its bid to win a fourth consecutive Alabama Independent School Association championship. He coached boys basketball, girls basketball, track, football and golf during his 19-year run as a high school coach.

Prewett now is finishing his fifth season with the Tigers as an on-the-bench coach and strategy wiz. His specialty is zone defenses — understanding when to use them and how to counteract the zones Auburn encounters along the way.

"We have worked really, really well together," Prewett said. "One thing I found out early that first year is that (Pearl) doesn’t care whose idea it is. I was a first-year college coach (in 2015) and he listened to me. I didn’t say as much then. He probably didn’t listen to me as much then. It meant a lot that he’d give me a chance to gain that trust. If I really, really believe in something, he’s probably going to try it. It’s about the wisdom you use as an assistant — when to push hard and when I’m just sorta serious about it."

Prewett isn't simply one of Pearl's trusted lieutenants.

Players also adore him.

"I listen to everything he says," guard Samir Doughty said Friday. "If he talks about how to make breakfast, I’m listening to the fullest extent."