Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Bruce Pearl, who quit right before the season, so Auburn had to hire his son, Steven, is now complaining about the officiating in the Tennessee win over Auburn on Thursday afternoon. Maybe if Bruce hadn't quit right before the year, he could've made sure Auburn wasn't on the bubble.
Bruce Pearl made sure to go straight to X, where he posted, "There's Rim Protection, and there's what's been allowed to happen in the last 10 minutes." Okay, Bruce, whatever you say. The fouls were 24 on Auburn and 17 on Tennessee, but that doesn't take into account that Auburn started fouling with 90 seconds left in the game because the Vols had built up such a great lead.
There's Rim Protection and there's what's been allowed to happen in the last 10 minutes.
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) March 12, 2026
One play that likely had him upset was the monster block by Felix Okpara, which led to the tying basket for Tennessee. It was a big momentuim play no doubt, but this was as clean as ever. This block by Okpara was all ball, and if Pearl has a problem with this, then he doesn't know what he's talking about.
Okpara Block ➡️ Kobi Bucket
— Tri-Star Network (@TriStar_Network) March 12, 2026
What a sequence!!🔥pic.twitter.com/SJsunyNelg
Steven Pearl had a much more level headed take on the foul situation. After the game he said,"I don't have a lot issues with the calls that they got on the other end because we fouled them. We got to do a better job in those situations of not fouling. I thought there were a couple inconsistencies."
Tennessee moves on while Auburn sits on the bubble
With the win, Tennessee will now have a rubber match against rival Vanderbilt at 3:30 ET in the SEC Tournament. The Vols won the first meeting but lost to Vanderbilt on their Senior Day last Saturday. Auburn, however, has left its fate up to the committee. The Auburn Tigers are one of the most debated teams on the bubble this year, while many have compared them to the now one-loss Miami (OH) team, which played a week schedule but went undefeated in the regular season. If Auburn had today, they likely would have gotten in, but now they will have to wait anxiously on Sunday to see where they fall.