"One of the strongest resumes in the history of college basketball": Bruce Pearl seems optimistic despite Tennessee loss in SEC tournament

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl isn’t sweating his team’s SEC tournament loss to Tennessee. Despite falling 70-65 in Saturday’s semifinal, he remains confident about the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament outlook.

Pearl spoke after the game, following No. 3 Auburn’s loss to No. 8 Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals:

“Our resume is historically one of the strongest resumes in history of college basketball,” he said (1:18). “Certainly, losing to Tennessee as a team rank fifth or sixth in the country is not necessarily should knock us off that spot.”

Auburn has now dropped three of its last four, but most losses this season have been tight, back-and-forth battles. The exception? A flat performance at Texas A&M, where the Tigers were simply outworked. Still, they remain a dangerous team heading into March.

However, Auburn dominated one of the toughest SEC seasons ever, setting a school record with eight conference road wins, the most in the league. Four came against ranked teams. The Tigers rank No. 2 in NET and lead the nation with 16 Quad 1 wins, four more than Michigan State.

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Bruce Pearl responded with sarcasm on Auburn’s “panic” level

Bruce Pearl didn’t hold back when asked about Auburn’s “panic” level during their recent struggles. The Tigers coach responded with sarcasm.

“Yeah, we're panicked," Pearl said (5:52). "That's a real softball."

While acknowledging the losses, Pearl pointed out the tough competition:

"We lost to some great teams," he said. "We lost at the buzzer against Alabama.

"We had possessions here. … I can hardly wait till next weekend to start playing again. Let’s get to Sunday, find out where we’re going, find out who we’re playing, and let’s get back to work."

Auburn has built a strong case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers beat top teams like Houston, Iowa State, Purdue, Tennessee and Alabama while spending eight weeks as the nation's No. 1 team.

Auburn will learn its fate on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

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