WATCH: Paul Finebaum reveals surprising detail about SEC decision to add Oklahoma, Texas

ESPN analyst and expert of all things SEC, Paul Finebaum, gave a surprising take on the conference’s acquisition of Texas and Oklahoma. On Saturday, during the Paul Finebaum Show, the analyst answered a guest caller’s question and explained in detail that perhaps the SEC didn’t want to take on the schools.

“I don’t think the SEC wanted to expand. The SEC was put in a position about a year ago and the commissioner received a call… that Texas and Oklahoma wanted to join. so let me throw this back at you [if] you’re the commissioner of the SEC you find out the two of the most valuable properties in the sport want to join your league — tell me how you handle it.”

Last year Texas and Oklahoma made waves throughout college sports after announcing that they plan to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC no later than 2025. The move came as a shock to many, given the current college sports landscape surrounding the Power-5 conference setup. And for the SEC, they might have had their hands tied behind their backs on this one, either accepting the two significant schools or witnessing a much more disastrous result for the conference.

“Here’s the answer, whether they wanted them or not, they were faced with this dilemma; if they said no, then a couple of things were going to happen. Either Texas and Oklahoma were going to join one of their competitors, either the Big Ten or the ACC; probably the Big Ten or they were going to form their own league and put everyone in college football and college athletics on notice. So the SEC, whether they really wanted them or not made a business decision. It’s as simple as that,” said Finebaum.

Below is Finebaum’s take on the topic.

Finebaum calls out SEC for disappointing NCAA Tournament performance

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.

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.