Bruce Pearl makes case for Texas A&M's NCAA bid following SEC Tournament upset

Texas A&M pulled off a massive upset on Friday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, defeating the top seeded Auburn Tigers. The Aggies now advance to Saturday’s semifinals, and face off against Arkansas.

Following the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl told reporters that he hopes that Texas A&M’s win was enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. Pearl certainly believes that the Aggies belong in the field.

“Congratulations to Texas A&M,” Pearl said. “I hope for Texas A&M and for our conference that that’s enough to get them in the tournament. They just beat one of the best teams in the country and beat us from start to finish, and should not leave any doubt as to whether or not they belong.”

Texas A&M defeated Auburn 67-62. Friday was not the first matchup between the two teams, as the Tigers came out with a victory on Feb. 12 over the Aggies. Texas A&M finished the regular season at 20-11 overall and 9-9 against SEC opponents. The Aggies finished tied for fifth in the SEC, holding the eighth seed in the SEC Tournament.

Regardless, Pearl believes that Texas A&M looks like an NCAA Tournament caliber team.

“They finished fifth in the league, and they finished fifth in the toughest league in the country, and so I’m not sure — I know that whatever coaches have to say doesn’t hold any weight when it comes to tournament time,” added Pearl.

“I’ve just been doing this for 40 years, and I know what teams look like who deserve to be in, and that team does.”

Texas A&M can continue adding to its NCAA Tournament resume with a continued run in the SEC

If Texas A&M can beat Arkansas on Saturday and advance to the SEC Tournament championship game, the Aggies will have yet another impressive win on the resume. The winner of Texas A&M-Arkansas will face the winner of Tennessee-Kentucky in the SEC title game on Sunday.

The fact that Texas A&M is even in a position to make the NCAA Tournament is rather impressive. The Aggies started the year 15-2 overall and 4-0 in the SEC before going on an eight-game losing streak. Since that extended losing skid, Texas A&M has won seven of its last eight games.

Ahead of Saturday’s games, ESPN released an updated Bracketology with a fresh look at the projected NCAA Tournament field. Texas A&M was listed among the next four out, but with one or more two wins this weekend, the Aggies could be tough to turn away.