Paul Finebaum calls out SEC for disappointing NCAA Tournament performance
Paul Finebaum called out the SEC for their disappointing NCAA Tournament performance over the weekend. After entering the first two rounds with immense hype, the SEC is only sending one program into the Sweet 16.
On Monday, Finebaum vocalized his frustrations with the conference’s performance over the weekend in an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.
“Sadly, they peaked in late January, or early February,” joked Finebaum, regarding the SEC. “Of all the SEC schools that bombed out, Auburn is the least surprising. You had to look at the way they sputtered down the stretch. They’re still a very good team, but their big guys looked somewhat lost against a pick-up team from Miami. I say that affectionately, but those guys just played old-school ball. Those Auburn lottery picks in the middle just were somewhat clueless. People love to blame coaching this time of the year. You praise and blame, but ultimately this was easy to see coming. I think Bruce Pearl probably saw it coming, as well.
“The team you really didn’t see was Tennessee, because they have been some dominant down the stretch. Especially in Tampa. Kentucky speaks for itself. Come on. I know Saint Peter’s won again, but that remains an absolute shock. Alabama wasn’t too surprising. LSU you expected. And by the way — Arkansas — just to finish the dance card, has been playing at such a high level. I don’t think their stay on the West Coast is going to be long. But the fact that Arkansas is the last remaining team, I don’t know if you could’ve gotten that at your corner bookie.”
As you can see, a historically disappointing weekend for the SEC has left Paul Finebaum flabbergasted. Moving forward, it’ll be tough to trust the conference to deliver a championship-caliber team to the NCAA Tournament.
More on Auburn Tigers, SEC NCAA Tournament trouble
Moreover, the SEC’s NCAA Tournament troubles were punctuated by Auburn falling to Miami on Sunday. The Hurricanes pulled off their second upset of the NCAA Tournament, knocking off the 2-seed Tigers 79-61 to advance to the Sweet 16. Miami relied on solid defense, ball security and highlight plays to survive and advance.
The Hurricanes were led by Isaiah Wong with 21 points, followed by Kameron McGusty with 20. Point guard Charlie Moore, who head coach Jim Larranaga had high praise for, added 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
They did well to contain projected top-three NBA Draft pick Jabari Smith, putting him on the wrong side of two highlight plays throughout the night. He finished with just 10 points, shooting 3-of-16 from the field and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line.
Miami’s upset win over Auburn places them in the second weekend and sets up a Sweet 16 matchup against 11-seed Iowa State after its upset win over Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the lone SEC team remaining in the NCAA Tournament is the Arkansas Razorbacks.