Pearl not thrilled about Auburn traveling to Spokane

It was no secret that Auburn was not too happy with landing one the 4 seed line after winning the SEC Tournament in dominating fashion.

But Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl clarified Wednesday that while he wished Auburn had climbed to a No. 3 seed, he was more upset about being placed in a location in Spokane that will be difficult for fans to travel to.

Pearl did praise the city, saying he is looking forward to traveling to what he described as a “beautiful city” and that his frustrations are not about his own travel, but the difficulty for Auburn fans to attend.

“I just think about our fans, and I think about our players’ parents. And I think about the families that are trying to get out there,” Pearl said. “The pod system was created so that you didn’t have to do this. You know? So, that’s my only complaint. We’re leaving on Tuesday to play a game on Friday in another time zone.”

On Sunday, Pearl openly questioned whether or not Auburn was being “punished” for having the opportunity to have played in Birmingham last year.

He did also offer his thoughts on what a solution would be for the problem of massive travel during the first round.

“My advice would be to do a study of where the teams are in the country are that are making the tournament,” Pearl said. ?And if there’s a preponderance of teams that are making the tournament in the Southern part of the country that are making the tournament, or the West, or the Northeast, then have more regions, have more pods in those locations.”

Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham will be playing their first round games in Spokane as well. The second round would also be played there, should they advance.

While Alabama is in the West region, Auburn and UAB are in the East region and would be matched up in the second round, should both teams advance.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP