Does Auburn Deserve An NCAA Tourney Invite? No, But These Next 72 Hours Will Be A Politicking Nightmare
Let the politicking for Auburn continue, after a fitting loss to Tennessee that should end their season. As for Bruce Pearl, he was back to his old ways.
NASHVILLE — There was nothing Auburn head coach Steve Pearl could say following the loss to Tennessee on Thursday afternoon that is going to convince the NCAA selection committee one way or the other to include the Tigers in their selections on Sunday.
The politicking is over, and from what we witnessed on the court this afternoon against the Vols, actions seemingly spoke louder than any words spoken from a man with the last name "Pearl."
Yes, that goes for Bruce Pearl as well, who was teeing off on officials from behind Auburn's bench during the Tigers squandering of a 10-point lead in the second half. It was as if we were all witnesses as to why Auburn currently sits in this spot of desperation for someone on the selection committee to put up a fight in the ongoing discussion.
Fire Up The Debate About Miami (OH) And The NCAA Tournament
There is no denying that Auburn has one of the best strengths of schedule in college basketball, along with metrics that would make you think they are good enough to be dancing with others when the final picks are made.
When the final seconds ticked off the clock 522 miles north of Nashville in Cleveland, which is hosting the MAC tournament, the Miami (OH) loss to UMass essentially clinched the conference two bids to the highly sought-after dance. There is no reason that one of the best stories in college basketball regular season history should not already have their spot secured.
Head Coach Steven Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts to a play during the second half in the second round of the 2026 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament against the Tennessee Volunteers at Bridgestone Arena. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
But in Nashville, after Auburn could not stop the bleeding of a 19-0 run from Tennessee on Thursday, we were looking at the same reason why Steven Pearl is having to stump so hard for an invitation.
"Some of the biggest things that we're told to do in scheduling, especially during football season, is to get some of these prime-time matchups for TV ratings, to compete with football," Steve Pearl said postgame. "That's why we play teams like Houston and Purdue and Arizona, we go to the Players Era. We do all those things.
"So we scheduled a really hard out-of-conference schedule. We had some really quality wins in that streak. If you look at — this tournament is a team of who you can beat. If we're going to look at six teams on the bubble right now, Texas, SMU, VCU, Miami Ohio, Missouri, New Mexico, we have more top-25 NET wins than everyone in that group but Missouri. We have more top-50 wins than everyone in that group. We have two top-25 road neutral wins, more than everyone else on the bubble."
That's great, but Auburn had 13 different opportunities against Top-25 teams, according to the KenPom rankings. How many wins did they secure? Three.
Nobody Is Arguing That Auburn Didn't Play A Tough Schedule
There is absolutely no doubt in the minds of college basketball fans that Auburn played a tough schedule. It's obviously noteworthy, but finishing 17-16 on the season puts you in this spot of desperation.
"We did the things that were asked of us in scheduling. With 10 new guys, that was probably a little aggressive on our part with nine underclassmen. Our guys have some of the best wins in college basketball. This team deserves to be in the tournament."
Tennessee State Head Coach Explains Why 'Cinderella' Is A 'No-No' Word
But Thursday was a perfect example of why you cannot trust this basketball team. And please, we cannot discuss Bruce Pearl when dissecting Auburn's resume.
Sure, this team was put in a horrible spot when the former coach decided to retire a month before the season started, which was also a tool to get his son hired as the permanent head coach, which Bruce has not disputed when it comes to nepotism.
Take that part out of the discussion, and look at what you saw on Thursday with all eyes on the Tigers. They allowed Tennessee to beat them up in the paint over the final ten minutes, with Nate Ament showing the world why he could be a star in the NBA, finishing with 27 points and 8 rebounds.
While this might be one of the worst seasons in recent memory in terms of worthy "bubble" teams, that doesn't mean Auburn should snag a spot. And, when the conversation started about the NCAA potentially putting the Tigers against Miami (OH) in the "First-Four In" next week in Dayton, Steven made sure to point out the Redhawks strength of schedule.
"I hope we do. It would mean that two very deserving teams made the tournament because they went 31-0, which is hard to do regardless of the schedule you play. Even only playing two quad two games and no quad ones, the fact of the matter is they lost to a quad four team today."
Former head coach Bruce Pearl looks on from the crowd during the second half in the second round of the 2026 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Auburn Tigers. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
Bruce Pearl Makes Headlines Off The Court In Nashville With Auburn
Everyone knows that the former Tigers head coach is now just a fan, who also has a massive platform while working for TNT and CBS as a commentator.
Pearl will have a role in the upcoming "Selection Sunday" show this weekend to announce the final field for the NCAA Tournament.
But on Thursday, Pearl was taking out his frustrations regarding the lack of foul calls in the second half, which went over 8:10 minutes at one point.
"That's some bullsh*t (inaudible), that's some bullsh*t on both f*cking ends," Pearl was seen yelling at what looked to be an official. "That's embarrassing."
Clearly, he had seen enough, and knows these officials from his time doing the same along the sidelines. But my goodness, that will obviously garner thousands of views, and probably doesn't help his son Steven in the eyes of public opinion.
Even so, there were plenty of Auburn fans who felt the same way and expressed their feelings in the same manner on Thursday afternoon.
Next up, Bruce will take a seat at the table inside CBS studios on Sunday, where the former Auburn coach will either be celebrating his son making the NCAA Tournament or ridiculing the committee for their decision.
At least he's come around to Miami (OH) being worthy of making the dance. But it's going to be a stressful 72 hours on The Plains in Auburn.