Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler fired back at former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl over Pearl’s criticism regarding the undefeated RedHawks’ NCAA Tournament at-large credentials.
The 29-0 RedHawks have been the center of debate on whether they are a lock for March Madness in the event they don’t win the MAC tournament since they have piled up 29 straight victories. If the RedHawks don’t win in Cleveland and get the automatic bid, they could still make the tournament and steal a spot from a Power conference team — like Auburn.
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“U are flat out wrong about @MiamiOH_BBall when u say we would finish last in the Big East,” Sayler said on social media Monday, March 2. “The disrespect is awful and u should not be near a TV studio covering this sport when u show your true colors! Even slipped in a ‘we’ when talking about Auburn, nice work!”
Sayler’s comments stem from what Pearl said as TNT analyst Saturday, Feb. 28, where he argued despite being the only team without a loss, No. 20 Miami (Ohio) shouldn’t be in the NCAA Tournament if it doesn’t get the automatic bid by winning the MAC tournament.
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“Here’s the deal. Are we going to select the 68 most deserving teams? Or are we going to select the 68 best teams?” he said. “If we’re selecting the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion, because as an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country, and that’s going to be a difficult choice for the committee.”
He then added mid-major teams like the RedHawks “recognize their only going to be a one-bid league.”
The criticism of Pearl only grew when he advocated for Auburn — the school he last coached and is led by his son, Steven — on “Wake Up Barstool” on Monday morning. The Tigers are 15-14 and 6-10 in the SEC with seven losses in their past eight games, but Pearl believes they are “last four in” territory and just need to beat LSU on Tuesday, March 3 and win their first round game of the SEC tournament to punch their ticket to the Big Dance.
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“They’ve got five Quad 1 wins. They’ve got the best win in college basketball on the road at Florida. As far as that margin, it’s either the best or one of the best. So they got a little bit more work to do,” he said.
Pearl added “there’s no love of my son. I mean, there’s no nepotism involved here.”
Miami (Ohio) is slated as an automatic qualifier and a No. 11 seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology, while Auburn is also a No. 11 seed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miami Ohio AD fires back at Bruce Pearl over NCAA Tournament at-large bid
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