Bruce Pearl on Alabama teams heading out West: 'Alabama, UAB, Auburn in Spokane, Washington? Enough said'

Destination can mean a ton when it comes to a draw in the NCAA Tournament. That’s why Bruce Pearl is frustrated for three of the four Alabama schools who made the field, not just Auburn, considering where they’ve ended up.

Pearl spoke about the fact that three of the state’s tournament teams – his Tigers, Alabama, and UAB – will be in Spokane, Washington to start March Madness. He said that that distance speaks for itself in regards to their travel compared to other teams in the bracket.

“I mean – Alabama, UAB, and Auburn in Spokane, Washington? Enough said,” said Pearl.

This information very clearly annoyed Pearl. You can see him shaking his head at that news with the media members laughing at his obvious displeasure.

Auburn is the No. 4 seed in the East Region and will open March Madness against No. 13 Yale. This comes after they went to 27-7 overall following their win in the SEC Championship on Sunday over Florida.

Assuming they moved past the Bulldogs out of the Ivy League, they would then play the winner of the No. 5 and No. 12 seeds in the region. The five is San Diego State while the 12 is, as stated, UAB. The Blazers went 23-11 and won over Temple today too to secure the automatic bid from the American Championship.

As for Alabama, they are a No. 4 seed as well but out in the West Region. The Crimson Tide finished at 21-11 after losing to the Gators, the team that Auburn beat in the final of the SEC Tournament, in the quarterfinals. They will now play Charleston in the Round of 64 before getting either Saint Mary’s or Grand Canyon.

Still, while the draws are what they are, it’s more about the cross-country travel for all three of those teams. Each of the trio is well over 2,000 miles from Spokane as their tournament site. It’s then difficult from there assuming any of the three advance. Auburn or UAB would have to fly back to play in Boston the following weekend. As for Alabama, they would have to stay out west or fly back to play in Los Angeles.

Samford is Alabama’s only team that won’t be starting their appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the northwest. Instead, the Bulldogs, a No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region, is headed to Salt Lake City, Utah, which is still around 1,800 miles away, to play No. 4 Kansas.

Nothing about March Madness is easy with the competition that you’ll come across in any region. It’s just that Pearl feels it’s pretty brutal to have all three of their states teams having to travel the same long distance.