Auburn Tigers men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl appears to be less than thrilled by the location of his team’s opening matchup in the NCAA tournament.
The committee selected Auburn as a No. 4 seed for this year’s Big Dance, setting them up for a clash against the No. 13-seed Yale Bulldogs. That first-round game will be held at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Wash., roughly 2,400 miles northwest of Auburn.
Auburn’s seeding and game site were revealed hours after the Tigers beat Florida, 86–67, in the SEC tournament championship game in Nashville.
“Are we paying the price for getting Birmingham last year and having an incredible opportunity against Houston last year? Perhaps … This is the third time they’ve shipped us off a long way from our fans,” Pearl said shortly after the tournament bracket was revealed, via Justin Ferguson of The Auburn Observer.
Last season, Auburn’s first two games in the NCAA tournament were in their home state of Alabama. They defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round before losing to the Houston Cougars in the round of 32.
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Pearl suggested they were “paying the price” in 2024 after playing so close to home in 2023.
As for being “shipped away” for the third time, Pearl seems to be referring to the team’s tournament appearances in 2017-18 and 2018-19. In those seasons, the Tigers played first-round matchups in Viejas Arena in San Diego and Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. They’ll be back out West again this year, and Pearl made clear he’s not thrilled.
