NASHVILLE, Tenn. — NIT? Auburn basketball?
Technically, that could still happen, especially with the Tigers exiting in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, March 12, but it’s not a topic of discussion within the confines of Neville Arena.
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Head coach Steven Pearl said after the Tigers’ 72-62 loss to fifth-seeded Tennessee that his plans have not discussed alternative postseason options if the Tigers do not play in March Madness because “we should be in the (NCAA) tournament,” he said.
Then Pearl paused: “Then I’ll just keep ranting.”
“First and foremost,” Pearl said, “what people have to understand is my job is to fight for my team. My job is to be an advocate for my team. My job is to talk about everything this team does.”
Keep fighting, Pearl did.
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“Some of the most important things we’re told to do in our schedule, especially during football season, is to schedule some prime-time games, versus football, for TV ratings,” Pearl continued. “That’s why we’re playing teams like Houston, Purdue and Arizona. We’re coming into our playing days. We’re doing all these things.”
All told, Auburn played 11 ranked opponents during the regular season, including against the then-No. 1 Houston, then-No. 2 Arizona. Auburn faces the nation’s leading Quad 1 opponents based on NET ratings (a factor heavily factored into the selection committee’s decision), although they have a 4-12 record in those games.
“We have a very tough out-of-conference schedule,” Pearl said. “We had some really quality wins in that streak. This tournament is a team you can beat. If we were to look at the six teams in the bubble right now — Texas, SMU, VCU, Miami Ohio State, Missouri State, New Mexico State.
“We have more top-25 net wins than every team in this group except Missouri. We have more top-50 net wins than every team in this group. We have two top-25 road neutral wins, more than anyone else in the bubble. We have more projected wins than anyone else in the bubble.
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Also look at the metrics. Pearl specifically mentioned NET, KenPom, record strength, and beating the bubble. There’s also the strength of Auburn’s schedule, which Pearl ranks third in the nation, and its non-conference schedule, which ranks 15th. He said Auburn ranked higher than its colleagues in the bubble in at least five of seven relevant categories.
“We did what the schedule asked us to do,” Pearl said. “With 10 new players, which is probably a little aggressive for us, nine underclassmen. Our guys have had some of the best wins in college basketball. This team deserves to be in the tournament. This is a team that can win games in the tournament. I think they did enough to finally get their name called at tryouts on Sunday.”
Adam Cole is an Auburn athletics news writer for The Montgomery Advertiser. You can contact him via email: acole@gannett.com Or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), @colereporter. To support Adam’s work, please Subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser: Steven Pearl takes final shot for Auburn basketball in NCAA tournament
