There is nothing like a March Madness debate! Former Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl recently said on Barstool that he doesn't believe that undefeated Miami (OH) University is a legit threat for the Big Dance in a few weeks.
Here is what Pearl said.
“They're not built for the grind of a Big Ten or even a Big East. In the Big East Conference this year, they'd finish in the lower half,” Pearl told Barstool on Monday. “They may not finish last. But I tell you what: I'm not so sure. I'm not so sure. Who is the last-place team? It would be DePaul. It would be Marquette. I don't know.”
The Redhawks are 29-0 and are making history, trying to finish the season undefeated. They are likely to do it, but that does not mean they will win their conference tournament. It should be very obvious that a team that goes undefeated in the regular season should have an at-large bid, not being required to win its conference tournament to secure the automatic bid.
Joe Lunardi weighed in on the debate in his latest bracketology.
“I try to avoid debates without clear right or wrong answers, but Bruce Pearl's argument against Miami (Ohio) as an at-large team requires context. First, high-major status aside, we have no idea whether Auburn is the better basketball team. Second, Miami has won four more true road games than Auburn has played, and road teams in men's college basketball win less than one-third of the time. Finally, in the modern history of the NCAA tournament, great mid-majors have won almost twice as many games as middling high-majors, despite fewer bids and weaker seeding. Now, I suppose it's possible Miami is the worst undefeated team of all time, and Auburn is the best .500 team we've ever seen — but it's way more likely Pearl would be better off leaving Bracketology to the professionals.”
