This isn’t about Miami (Ohio) and its 30-0 record against a soft schedule.
This is about Auburn basketball’s collapse, and instead of owning up to his part in it, Bruce Pearl made the RedHawks out to be the scapegoat.
All Miami has done is beat 30 consecutive opponents. What’s Auburn (16-14) done? Well, it lost seven of its last nine, as Aubie fights to keep his head above .500.
Somehow, Auburn’s position on the NCAA men’s tournament bubble is all Miami’s fault, that mid-major that just keeps beating everybody on its schedule.
“Here’s the deal. Are we going to select the 68 most deserving teams? Or are we going to select the 68 best teams?’ Pearl said this week from his spot in the TNT studio.
Pearl’s stance: If Miami loses even one single game and fails to win its conference tournament, it shouldn’t receive an at-large bid to the tournament.
He subsequently stumped for Auburn’s credentials.
What’s this all about?
Nepotism, of course. A tale as old as time.
Pearl’s son, Steven, coaches Auburn — in part, because Pearl helped him get the job, a fact he admits.
Pearl kept Auburn in limbo leading up to this season: Would he coach? Would he run for political office? Would he retire?
He chose retirement, but not until six weeks before the season tipped off. His timing helped ensure Auburn would promote his son from associate coach to the head chair, while the elder Pearl shifted into an ambassador role and a special assistant to athletic director John Cohen.
Bruce Pearl admits to nepotism, helping Steven Pearl
Pearl, though, insists he’s not acting from a place of bias when he polishes Auburn.
“That’s objectively how I feel,” he told OutKick.
Pearl, an experienced liar, might think that’s the case, but the truth is, we cannot possibly know how he’d objectively feel about this situation. Let us reiterate: Pearl coached Auburn for many years. He remains on Auburn’s payroll. His son coaches Auburn.
Does this sound like someone who could be objective?
“Am I rooting for son to make the NCAA Tournament? Of course I am!” Pearl said to OutKick. “Did I help my son get the job? Nepotism? Of course I did!”
Well, you said it.
No shame in rooting for your son, and Pearl is hardly the first coach to grease the wheels of nepotism. But, please, spare us from pretending you’re unbiased in this debate.
Miami (Ohio) athletic director calls Bruce Pearl’s remarks ‘disgusting’
Auburn is currently listed as the last team in the field in USA TODAY’s latestbracket projection, while Miami (Ohio) is projected into the field as a No. 11 seed.
Indefatigable, Pearl kept his barrage of barbs coming at Miami (Ohio). He told Barstool he thought it possible the RedHawks would be in last place if they played in the Big East, which is experiencing the worst season of any of the major conferences.
David Sayler, the athletic director at Miami (Ohio), fired back that Pearl’s denigration of the RedHawks was “disgusting.”
At the very least, it’s blatantly biased, but none of it changes that the RedHawks are flourishing, and Auburn is suffering after Pearl’s ill-timed retirement and the Tigers’ subsequent nepo-hire.
Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.