On Sunday, when you tune into the annual NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show on CBS to see who is in and who is out of March Madness, you will see the familiar faces of Adam Zucker, Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis.
There will be another face on your television as well: former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. According to responses from fans on Twitter, they are not huge fans of seeing Pearl on the show.
Why do we have to pretend Bruce Pearl isn’t the biggest scumbag in the history of the sport? Get him the fuck off my TV https://t.co/Q9pu9GBX2D
— Scott Hughes (@ScottHughesCBB) March 11, 2026
Replacing Jay Wright with Bruce Pearl has to be one of the biggest downgrades in television history https://t.co/jF854emb13
— ky (LOADED) (@RealKYMuskie) March 11, 2026
Who likes Bruce Pearl? Why is he even on television https://t.co/s7WG4ucgiL
— Tanner Wunder (@TannerWunder) March 11, 2026
Always a controversial figure, Pearl has come under fire recently for comments concerning the Miami RedHawks and their place in the NCAA Tournament. Pearl stated that, even with a perfect regular-season record, Travis Steele’s team isn’t worthy of a bid unless it wins its conference tournament. While Pearl has somewhat backtracked on the statement, it was seen as a play to get Auburn, now coached by his son, Steven, into the NCAA Tournament, as the Tigers are currently on the bubble.
Fans waiting to see Bruce Pearl's outrage
And, as you can see, many are awaiting to see how Pearl reacts on live TV if the Tigers don't make the tournament while the RedHawks do.
Bruce Pearl on National Television after Auburn gets left out pic.twitter.com/6gMTkAqxZh https://t.co/QXQdcISjj2
— Alex (@ajak1033) March 11, 2026
The Bruce Pearl live TV crash out going to be legendary https://t.co/q7yCPwU0L7
— wes (@wesj_42) March 11, 2026
Did they intentionally add Bruce Pearl to the selection show to get his reaction to what happens with Auburn and/or Miami (OH)? https://t.co/cZKZ98NSTc
— Morgan Wick (@morganwick) March 11, 2026
Bruce is gonna pop a vessel when Miami (OH) gets in. https://t.co/x2yYEMiCF2
— Red Raider Man🌵 (@redraiderman1) March 11, 2026
Auburn needs to make a deep run starting on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament to have a shot at hearing its name called on Sunday. The Tigers have struggled in the younger Pearl’s first season, finishing the regular season 16-15 and 7-11 in SEC play after winning the conference and reaching the Final Four last season.
Along with Bruce’s sudden resignation, the Tigers returned just one player – Tahaad Pettiford – who was a major contributor last season. A massive roster overhaul brought in players such as Keyshawn Hall and KeShawn Murphy, but a tough non-conference schedule and some discipline issues have made this season feel like an uphill battle at times.