Bruce Pearl drops cryptic statement as No. 4 seeded Auburn lands in Spokane: "Wonder how much this thing is seeded before the Sunday final" 

Coach Bruce Pearl led the Auburn Tigers to their third SEC (Southeastern Conference) tournament title with a resounding 86-67 victory over the Florida Gators in the final.

On Selection Sunday, the Tigers, with a record of 27-7, were seeded No. 4 in the East region. They were matched against the Ivy League champions, the No. 13 Yale Bulldogs (22-9), for their first-round clash of the NCAA Tournament.

The game will be played at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, 2,400 miles from Auburn, on 22 March.

The outspoken Bruce Pearl dropped a cryptic statement after the seeding complaining about the distance that the Auburn Tigers and their fans would have to travel despite winning the SEC tournament title.

“Well they’ve been talking about us being out in Spokane a lot for some reason,” Pearl said. “Maybe that’s because that’s where the 4s are. We were hoping that an SEC Tournament championship and wherever we are in the NET, maybe we’re 5 or so in the NET, would get us to the 3-line. But it obviously didn’t.

"Are we paying the price for getting Birmingham last year and having an incredible opportunity against Houston last year? Perhaps … This is the third time they’ve shipped us off a long way from our fans. You always wonder how much this thing is seeded before the Sunday final,” Pearl said.

The Tigers first two games last season were in Alabama and Bruce Pearl hinted at the possibility that the Tigers' first game being in Spokane was payback for the good fortune of last year.

"We’ve been in this for a few times now. We got San Diego. We got Salt Lake City. Yes, we did get Birmingham but we also now got Spokane" Pearl said. "So this is three times now that they’ve shipped us quite a ways away from our fans. I mean, Alabama, UAB and Auburn in Spokane, Washington? Enough said."

Bruce Pearl leads Auburn to the SEC championship

The Auburn Tigers lost to the Florida Gators 81-65 during the pair's last regular season matchup, the biggest loss suffered by Bruce Pearl and his team this season.

Forward Johni Broome led his team to the SEC championship game win registering 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists to clinch the revenge win.

The last time that Auburn won a game in the SEC tournament was in 2019 and they avoided an upset at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville after Kentucky and Alabama were downed in their respective games.

Bruce Pearl was emotional as he cut down the nets and he dedicated the win to his father, Bernie who passed away last year in August.