Watch Bruce Pearl fire back at reporter after dramatic Auburn loss to Tennessee

It's back to the drawing board for the Auburn Tigers. On Saturday, Auburn was in a great spot to post an unforgettable win over the Tennessee Vols in the SEC semifinals, but things weren't meant to be. Tennessee came out on top 70-65 and the dream of winning the conference title is dead.

Despite that, Auburn will still take home a No. 1 seed during Selection Sunday and this team is still going to have plenty of confidence with the NCAA Tournament coming up next. However, Auburn has lost three of its last four contests. A reporter reminded Bruce Pearl of this and to say he was not happy about that would be an understatement:

Bruce Pearl was not happy with a reporter after Auburn lost to Tennessee

"I'm really glad you asked that question," Pearl said. "We lost to Alabama, Tennessee and at Texas A&M. Yeah, we're panicked. That's a real softball. We lost to some great teams. We lost at the buzzer against Alabama, we had possessions here (vs. Tennessee), so yeah, we're panicked. I can hardly wait till next weekend to start playing again. Let's get to Sunday, let's find out where we're going, who we're playing and let's get to work. Looking forward, not back."

You can cut the tension with a butter knife. Pearl was hoping his guys would post a win on Saturday, but we've got to give credit to the Vols - they made the necessary plays late to pull things off. Zakai Zeigler, one of the best point guards in the country, led the way with 20 points for Tennessee.

Johni Broome (23 points) was of course superb in this one, giving the UT defense all kinds of issues. Unfortunately for the SEC Player of the Year, his effort wasn't enough to lift his team over an SEC rival. Next up for Auburn is indeed March Madness and Pearl will find out when and where his team will be playing next on Sunday.