AUBURN, Alabama–Bruce Pearl said he was “found” by what he said was an inaccurate account of why his basketball team lost to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. It was a major theme Sunday night for the Auburn coach after his Tigers were named the No. 2 seed for the Midwest Regional in the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn takes on Jacksonville State University at 11:40 a.m. CDT on Friday with television coverage on Tru TV to open what the Tigers hope will be a solid run in the big dance.
“I keep shaking my head,” Pearl said. “I listen to the games that are on the air and I understand that maybe we took Texas A&M lightly or they wanted it more than us or something. I just don’t get it.
“We were overwhelmed,” he said. “I was out-coached. They did a great job. It’s a very good team. »
Texas A&M beat Florida in overtime Thursday to earn a shot at the No. 1 seed in the SEC Auburn tournament on Friday. The Aggies defeated the Tigers 67-62, then advanced to the Finals with an 82-64 upset against Arkansas on Saturday before falling to Tennessee 65-50 on Sunday.
Despite the strong showing and a 23-12 overall record, the Aggies did not become the seventh SEC team to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
“I’m disappointed they weren’t here because I think they did a great job at the end of the year,” Pearl said. “Obviously looking at who has entered and who hasn’t entered that CV throughout the year is important. It matters. When they say it matters, it does, but I wish I had seven (SEC) teams on the field instead of six.
Pearl’s team won the SEC regular season title with a 15-3 league record and a 27-5 record in Friday’s NCAA Tournament first round game against the University of Jacksonville State at Bon Secours Wellness Center in Greenville, SC
“You don’t go 15-3 in an 18-game schedule by not respecting every opponent,” Pearl said. “Again, it wasn’t that we weren’t trying to win the SEC tournament and rest up, or we didn’t take it seriously. We wanted to beat Texas A&M or Florida and we made ourselves to beat.
“It wasn’t because the kids weren’t ready to play or they weren’t trying hard, or anything like that. It rubs me so badly and I hear it on other shows, and I hear it elsewhere too. It’s just not accurate and I did that (media) and did the coaching.
If Auburn can get past Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season champion Jacksonville State, the Tigers will face either No. 7 seed Southern Cal of the Pac-12 or No. 10 seed Miami of the Pac-12. ACC during a second round game at Bon Secours Arena in Greenville.
If Auburn wins and advances to Sunday’s second-round game in Greenville, the Tigers will face the winner of No. 7 Southern Cal and No. 10 Miami. The Trojans are 26-7 overall and have been ranked in the National Top 10 this season. They finished 14-6 in Pac-12 play. Miami finished 23-10 overall and 14-6 in the ACC.
Wisconsin of the Big 10 is the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region with Providence at No. 4 followed by Iowa, LSU, San Diego State, Creighton, Miami, Florida. State of Iowa, Richmond, State of South Dakota, Colgate and State of Jacksonville. The No. 16 seed, who will face Kansas, is the winner of Texas Southern against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of the Midwest Regional will be played March 25-27 at the United Center in Chicago. The Final Four will be played on April 2 and 4 at the Supedome in New Orleans.
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