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Bruce Pearl explains why SEC struggled overall in the NCAA Tournament
By Keith Farner
Published:
Bruce Pearl is aware the SEC struggled in the NCAA Tournament, and the Auburn coach spoke Sunday night after his team fell in the second round to Miami.
But there was also Kentucky’s shocking upset in the first round on Thursday, Alabama falling to Notre Dame and LSU losing to Iowa State both on Friday in the first round, then Michigan knocking off Tennessee in the second round on Saturday.
Arkansas remains after wins over New Mexico State and Vermont.
“The SEC is going to get crushed because of our tournament performance. Arkansas is the only team that’s alive. I think we just beat each other up all year. It was such a grind. Such a grind. That’s the only thing I can tell you because the league was really, really good. We didn’t show it in the tournament,” Pearl said. “But what I’ll take from this team is the fact that they brought it every night. They won more games on the road than any team in the SEC in league play, and we have the best home court advantage in league play. That’s why we were able to finish. We finished 15-3 in the league. So champions.”
Pearl’s statement didn’t sit well with college basketball fans and media.
Bruce Pearl: “The SEC is going to get crushed because of our tournament performance but I think we just beat each other up all year. It’s just such a grind.”
So there’s that.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) March 21, 2022
So the only SEC team left is the one that beat 13-seed Vermont by four and then 12-seed New Mexico State (despite making just 14 shots) 😬😬😬
— Patrick Brown (@pbrown247) March 21, 2022
Bruce Pearl said the SEC was a grind this year. Greg Sanky has banned the use of SEC chant at all basketball games from this day forward.
— Groucho (@Gminoso) March 21, 2022
Bruce Pearl should worry less about the reputation of the SEC and more about why the team he coaches can’t properly execute a 3/4 court trap. https://t.co/gD7werUqu9
— Toward Morning (@younglefhander) March 21, 2022
Just curious if Bruce Pearl let everyone know they won 15 games in the sec this year in his press conference?
— Jeffrey Martin 🐗 (@realJeffM) March 21, 2022
Auburn playing like this, and winning as many games as they did in the SEC, does not speak very well of the SEC. Pearl getting absolutely depantsed tonight by Jimmy L
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 21, 2022
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
