It's probably over for the Auburn Tigers this basketball season. There's always next year, and Alex Golesh should have the football program winning games again, possibly as soon as this fall, with Byrum Brown and five USF Bulls receivers coming over from Tampa.
For Steven Pearl's hoops squad, though? CBS Sports' David Cobb spelled it out clearly: Auburn is relying on the March Madness selection committee snubbing the VCU Rams, San Diego State Aztecs, New Mexico Lobos, and Saint Louis Billikens.
Cobb deemed the Tigers a bracketology loser, though, and claimed that VCU's recent run may have been enough to earn the Rams an at-large bid over a 17-16 Auburn team that lost 72-62 to the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC Tournament on Thursday. So that doesn't feel likely, since CBS and TNT Sports own the media rights to March Madness.
"VCU hanging around on the right side of the bubble was bad news for Auburn, which will likely need the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West to be one-bid leagues. The Tigers (17-16) can do nothing but sit, hope and pray after losing to Tennessee on Thursday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. They are firmly on the wrong side of the bubble in CBS Sports Bracketology, and they didn't get the help they needed from VCU," Cobb wrote.
Auburn making March Madness would make everyone hate Bruce and Steven Pearl even more
Auburn's strength of schedule was unmatched across the country. Wins over the Florida Gators in Gainesville, on a neutral court against the St. John's Red Storm, and at the Neville Arena against the Kentucky Wildcats and Arkansas Razorbacks are better wins than any that the aforementioned mid-majors have.
There's a very real case to include the Tigers in this year's NCAA Tournament and stress that regular-season games matter. Still, if Auburn was chosen for the Big Dance over several mid-majors while sporting a record barely above .500, it'd make Steve and Bruce Pearl the biggest villains in the sport. Imagine if AU made it over the Miami (OH) Redhawks? Those two and John Cohen would become the Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash of hoops.
In March Madness, no deserving underdog should be denied their rights to a puncher's chance. This isn't the College Football Playoff, where the smaller schools stand little to no chance. Hell, some small school will disprove that statement someday, in a way the Cincinnati Bearcats, Boise State Broncos, Tulane Green Wave, and James Madison Dukes couldn't.
We'll see if it's Auburn basketball that's deemed a deserving underdog tomorrow.