Steven Pearl fires back on Auburn NCAA tournament bubble talk: 'We deserve to be in'

NASHVILLE — Steven Pearl arrived at his postgame press conference prepared. Coming off the 72-62 loss to Tennessee on Thursday afternoon, the first-year Auburn coach was ready to explain why the Tigers deserve to make the NCAA tournament.

Until the last 10 minutes of the SEC Tournament second round game, Auburn looked poised to knock off the Vols and carry its March hopes into Friday. But a 22–2 Tennessee run, fueled by freshman star Nate Ament, will leave the Tigers living life on the bubble entering Selection Sunday.

“If you look at our résumé, if you compare us to the rest of the teams on the bubble, which I’m happy to go over all these notes with you, we deserve to be in the tournament,” Pearl said. “I’ll just go on a rant then.”

Roughly two hours before Auburn tipped off Thursday, Miami (Ohio) dropped its first game of the season in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament. With the loss, the RedHawks will not get an auto bid and will be on the bubble, making the MAC a likely two-bid league.

Miami’s loss, paired with the loss to Tennessee, may not bode well for the Tigers’ tournament chances. As of Thursday night, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Auburn as one of the first four teams out of the NCAA tournament.

Pearl cited pressure to “get some of these primetime matchups for TV ratings” as one of the reasons the Tigers scheduled a difficult nonconference slate. Auburn’s 17-16 record includes nonconference losses to No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Michigan, No. 5 Houston, No. 13 St. John’s and No. 18 Purdue. The Tigers’ strength of schedule ranks No. 2 in the nation, according to KenPom.

The signature win of the season came at No. 4 Florida in late January. But will it be enough for the selection committee to put Auburn in the field? The Tigers also went 1–6 in February.

“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,” Pearl said. “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. We have more wins over the projected field than anyone else on the bubble.

“… Our guys have some of the best wins in college basketball. This team deserves to be in the tournament. It’s a team that can win games in the tournament. I think they’ve done enough ultimately to have their name called on Selection Sunday.”

It’s been a year of learning for Pearl, who was named Auburn’s head coach on Sept. 22. In the first half of Thursday’s game, Auburn showed why it could compete with top-25 programs. Tahaad Pettiford posted 16 first-half points, including three 3-pointers. But the Tigers also showed why they’ve struggled late in the season in the second half, turning the ball over five times in the last eight minutes of the game.

A win against Quad 1 opponent Tennessee on Thursday would have kept Auburn’s Big Dance hopes alive. The Tigers would have matched up with a Vanderbilt team they lost to by eight last month. Instead, they’ll head home and wait to hear their March fate.

Pearl admitted he’s paid little thought to other postseason opportunities other than March Madness. Not hearing Auburn’s name called will likely force a decision if the Tigers play in the NIT or enter transfer portal mode.

“None of the teams in the bubble, if they play our schedule, I really don’t think they’re going to perform as well as we did this year,” Pearl said. “I just don’t. I’m just going to fight for my guys on that. I’ll stand on that.

“So I’m going to watch this, break down, see the things we did well, didn’t do well. We’ll get back to Auburn, we group, see what the committee decides.”