“SEC tournament doesn't mean a damn thing” - Bruce Pearl’s son, Steven Pearl, goes on a rant as Auburn gets sent to Spokane for NCAA Tournament

The son of Auburn coach Bruce Pearl expressed dissatisfaction over the Tigers' placement in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

The NCAA selection committee revealed the 2024 tournament bracket which saw the fourth-seeded Tigers (27-7) playing in the East region and will take on No. 13-seeded Yale (22-9), the Ivy League champion, on Friday in Spokane, Washington.

One person who did not like the 12th-ranked Tigers' seeding in the NCAA Tournament is Bruce's son, Steve, who aired his rant on "The Next Round."

Pearl, Auburn's associate head coach, said the committee disrespected the SEC Tournament title.

"The SEC Tournament doesn't mean a damn thing if you can win three straight games and win the SEC championship and be a 4-seed," Pearl said. "It's a joke.

"I think they made their lineup before we got into the SEC Tournament. It's amazing that we win the championship, but it doesn't do anything for our team to show up and win three games and we didn't get rewarded for it. We'll get shipped out to Spokane, Washington, and play that game."

---

Auburn clinches SEC Tournament, automatic bid to March Madness

Johni Broome scored 19 points to lead the Auburn Tigers in the SEC championship.

Auburn secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Florida 86-67 on Sunday.

Johni Broome led for the Tigers with 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Tigers won their second SEC Tournament title under Bruce Pearl.

It was also the third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Tigers, who reached the Final Four in 2019.

Hours later, it was revealed on CBS' Selection Sunday program that they will be in the East region as the No. 4 seed and take on Ivy League Tournament champion Yale, which defeated Brown 62-61 in the final.

"We play on Friday, which is better than other teams that play on Thursday," Steve Pearl said. "We're blessed. We're very happy for that. But two really tough opponents in Yale and the winner of the San Diego State-UAB game."

The East region features Big East Tournament titlists and No. 1 seed UConn, Big 12 Tournament winner and No. 2 seed Iowa State and Big Ten Tournament champion and third seed Illinois.