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Bruce Pearl Reacts To Auburn's Controversial NCAA Tournament Draw

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Mar 18, 2025 5:51 PM ET

As the No. 1 team in the South region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. But for head coach Bruce Pearl it may not feel like much of an advantage given the teams they've been drawn against.

Speaking to the media this week, Pearl spoke about the team potentially having to face Louisville in the second round. He had tremendous praise for Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey and said Kelsey might even win Coach of the Year for the turnaround he's done with the program.

“In the next round, if we’re able to advance to the second game because, obviously, right now, there are five teams vying to advance – the two teams I already mentioned and then, of course, Creighton and Louisville,” said Pearl. “Pat Kelsey is the coach at Louisville. He may win a National Coach of the Year award. Louisville finished at the bottom a year ago, picked to finish near the bottom this year and what an incredible turnaround. Pat Kelsey – one of the best young coaches in our game.”

But Pearl did have a couple of complaints, namely that Louisville was given an 8-seed in the tournament rather than a 6- or 7-seed.

“Most of the stuff that we’d seen had them at the six or seven-line and, um, so, somehow they got bumped down to eight,” said Pearl. “You know, we’ve got to play great teams, um, no matter where we have to play them.”

Pearl also seemed a bit bemused that the first round is being held in Lexington, Kentucky - a short drive from Louisville. While he admitted that he's had NCAA Tournament games close to his team's home stadium, it's rarely been closer than a few hours away.

“A couple years ago, Houston had to play us when we were an eight or nine-seed in Birmingham,” said Pearl. “Now, Birmingham was a couple of hours away, obviously, um, but Auburn travels.”

Do you think Pearl is blowing the controversy out of proportion?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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