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Postgame Pod: Tennessee defeats Auburn 72-62 · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

• 0:07
  Welcome back everybody in here to the
• 0:09
  postgame pod at Auburn Undercover.
• 0:11
  Nathan King here joined by Patrick
• 0:13
  Bingham. Uh nice to get outside for a
• 0:15
  minute after being in the arena the past
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  uh the past couple days. We decided we'd
• 0:18
  brave Broadway for the uh for the post
• 0:20
  game. So
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  >> he would not let me do it on the top of
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  Tootsies
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  >> on the on the top. I don't think they'd
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  let you in with that giant tripod on the
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  uh on the top of tootsies, but uh uh
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  Auburn in that building today uh may
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  have seen its NCAA tournament hopes come
• 0:34
  to a close. 7262 they lose to Tennessee.
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  And Patrick, it really did not feel that
• 0:41
  way that that was going to happen until
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  it did. It was a it was a very uh
• 0:47
  violently sudden cascade for this Auburn
• 0:50
  team. You don't see, you know, a 10-
• 0:52
  nothing run is considered a kill shot.
• 0:53
  you know, there's lots of metrics around
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  like how effective that can be. If you
• 0:57
  have x number of them, you you can win,
• 0:58
  you know, games on a higher percentage.
• 1:00
  A 20 nothing run for for Tennessee. Uh
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  it was again, Patrick, very dramatic the
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  way that this game flipped because
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  Auburn, they were playing tremendously
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  through the first 30 minutes 30 minutes
• 1:11
  of this game and really felt like they
• 1:12
  were in control.
• 1:13
  >> Yeah, I just feel like they were doing
• 1:14
  everything they needed to do to control
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  this game early on. They were making
• 1:19
  threes early on. Tennessee was not
• 1:20
  shooting particularly well. I think the
• 1:23
  defense was really the biggest thing of
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  like I mean it just it looked the best
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  it probably has at least since Florida
• 1:28
  if not all year. And I mean they were
• 1:30
  getting stops. I mean it was just like
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  everything you could have like said,
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  "Oh, this needs to happen." Auburn was
• 1:35
  killing them in rebounding. I mean it
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  was like literally everything. If you
• 1:38
  were to dream up this morning, how can
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  Auburn take control of this game? They
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  did. And then it I mean it was such a
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  fast 200 run. I mean it was just like in
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  seconds it almost felt like the entire
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  game had flipped. And you know, for as
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  much as like during these last almost
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  like month of well this loss is really
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  bad for Auburn, but they still have a
• 1:57
  chance to make the tournament and they
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  had these big opportunities and then
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  well they didn't capitalize on this but
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  they beat the bad team. Well, they have
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  another big opportunity they can take
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  advantage but they couldn't beat Alabama
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  and this was kind of the last one and in
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  what felt like just a couple minutes it
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  snaps away and now it sure they could
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  make it but it is no longer in your
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  hands
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  >> and I think that's what made things so
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  frustrating for them in the second half
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  is that it was so getable. you were
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  playing so well. This was not the
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  Alabama game where it was like you you
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  were out it was out of your hands very
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  quickly
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  >> and they were holding you at a 10-point
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  lead.
• 2:27
  >> Correct. It felt like you were playing
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  so strong throughout and so it wasn't
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  overly surprising to see I hesitate to
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  say tempers flare but I mean they were
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  just they were just extremely frustrated
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  toward the uh toward the end of the
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  game. I mean it Steven Pearl it felt
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  like that tech from Steven Pearl was
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  bubbling for
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  >> five or six minutes obviously and one of
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  the things he talked about after the
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  game is that it was so it was so
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  frustrating for them not to be able to
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  get to the foul line during that uh
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  during that stretch obviously was
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  frustrated with the officiating um
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  because he said that over the course of
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  the season look Auburn's fifth in the
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  country in free throw shooting during
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  other teams runs and he's he's right a
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  good way to slow those down is just get
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  to the foul line game takes a major step
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  down you start making subs I think
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  that's something people need to think
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  about you can bring your subs into the
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  game and and get to the free throw line
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  and make some points. During Tennessee's
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  200 run, do you know how many free
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  throws Auburn shot? They shot exactly
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  one free throw. It was a one-on-one with
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  Keon Hall and he missed it. So, that was
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  a huge difference as uh as well. But,
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  yeah, you're exactly right. I mean, at
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  the beginning of the game
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  >> heading into this one, rebounding was
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  something Auburn talked about so much
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  because Tennessee quote unquote punked
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  them in that first game. Plus 16 on the
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  boards in that first meeting. Auburn was
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  up like the entire game rebounding
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  margin. I can't remember what the final
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  end by one.
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  >> They won by one. They they had uh 16
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  offensive rebounds Auburn did in this
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  game. 22 second chance points for
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  Auburn. Like this was not a matter of
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  physicality. This was not a matter of
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  effort. It was just something that
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  cascaded so quickly. And uh Nate Nate
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  meant for for Tennessee. I know he was
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  kind of questionable going into this
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  game.
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  >> Looked plenty healthy. I mean he put
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  Tennessee on his back in this game.
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  >> Yes. Yeah. In the second half, you could
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  just tell it was all trending towards
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  him taking over. But I think that's the
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  thing in the second half and
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  particularly during the meltdown in that
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  200 run is for as good as so many things
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  that had been like things that had
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  really struggled Auburn, you know, like
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  making difficult shots or the turnovers
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  or whatever, it all started to cascade.
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  And it really was, I mean, Stephen said
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  it was a tale of two halves, but it
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  really was like a tale of like this is
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  the best of what this team could be. And
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  then we kind of saw a lot of what the
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  worst of of just not making shots, the
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  turnovers really pounding them as well.
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  >> And I'll go back to a phrase that we've
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  heard Steven Pearl turn so many times
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  this season and that is, you know, let
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  your defense don't let your your defense
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  affect your offense.
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  >> That's like this was patient zero for
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  that in in any sort of basketball
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  scenario. And Todd Pedford put it really
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  well after the game. He's like, "Yeah,
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  you know, we thought about it while we
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  were shooting." On the other end, we
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  thought Auburn had four turnovers during
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  this 20 nothing run. you know, they
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  thought about it when they were making
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  passes. It was like, yes, and and the
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  crowd is one thing I'll say, too. They
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  held that crowd at bay the whole game.
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  Like,
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  >> yeah,
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  >> Tennessee fans were dying for some
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  momentum and Auburn kept holding them
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  off.
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  >> And there were several times early in
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  the second half where they like got it
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  within seven and the crowd kind of lit
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  up and then Auburn made a shot and it
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  just answered
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  >> when the when when Tennessee I'm sure
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  Tennessee fans thought this might have
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  been a trigger point was they get within
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  six in the second half and that's when
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  Jaylen Carrey has a technical foul and
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  it's like, oh my gosh, you keep blowing
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  these opportunities. cuz Auburn ends up
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  going back up 10. They could not
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  overcome the momentum Auburn couldn't.
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  Like once you gave Tennessee an inch,
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  that crowd went a mile and and it cast
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  the Steven Pearl thing like him getting
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  a tech, you know, playing his former
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  team. Obviously Tennessee fans were were
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  letting him hear it. Like it just
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  started to roll and roll and so
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  obviously a very frustrating result
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  here. Look, Patrick, it's not surprising
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  surprising that Auburn lost this game
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  like that they they they needed this
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  win. it was going to be kind of an upset
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  win for their NCAA tournament chances,
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  but the manner in which it happened now
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  has you waiting for selection Sunday and
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  that's all we can do now at this point.
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  And Stephen Pearl made his point to the
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  committee very clear after the game.
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  We've heard him do it a couple times,
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  but this was a very detailed I think I
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  think he had the notes ready on his very
• 6:01
  detailed uh you know description of why
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  Auburn should make the tournament.
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  >> Yeah. And that's the thing is even just
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  talking to all the players of course
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  everyone is vouching for themselves and
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  giving all the different reasons but it
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  again it's one of those things I think
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  and we said this I think coming into the
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  week of
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  >> so much of it I still think is almost
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  outside of your hands. Yes in the
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  committee's hands but also in other
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  bubble teams hands of course like Miami
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  of Ohio losing um in their conference
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  tournament opens up a bit steeler.
• 6:27
  There's a bunch of different things of
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  like how this will play out, how bubble
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  teams, a lot of bubble teams have
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  already lost or lost their first night
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  of their tournaments. And so, a lot of
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  it is just going to come down to um how
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  other teams do, where your stuff stacks
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  up with. And at this point, you know, it
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  is out of your hands.
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  >> I mean, it's I and I hes I hate to like
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  beat a dead horse with the conversation.
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  Maybe some people are tired of of
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  hearing like, you know, what are Auburn
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  tournament chances? Blah blah. But it
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  but it really is, like you said, it's a
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  living, breathing conversation because
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  we didn't know Miami of Ohio was going
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  to lose until this morning. Like that
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  now introduces another element into the
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  conversation. And and here's the thing
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  about what Steven Pearl said and I I saw
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  Auburn fans saying this like everything
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  he said, he's right. Like every single
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  point he made, he's right. Auburn has
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  more quality wins than everybody on the
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  bubble. They have more top 50 net wins
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  than everybody on the bubble. They have
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  more wins against the field than
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  everybody on the bubble. They have more
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  top 25 road wins than anybody on the
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  bubble. The problem is they have more
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  losses than everybody on the bubble. So,
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  how much is that going to to matter
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  here?
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  >> And I think it's not even just like
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  overall losses cuz I think we've also
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  seen the argument of well Auburn
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  shouldn't have played that crazy
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  non-conference schedule because it's
• 7:35
  hurt. A your strength of schedule is
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  actually what's helping you in my
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  opinion, one of the things that's
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  helping you. But I think it's also it
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  for me and I think for a lot of people
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  it still comes down to it's not all the
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  losses. It's miss the first time,
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  Mississippi State the first time,
• 7:50
  Oklahoma. Like I mean it's it's those
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  that have cascad
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  so many opportunities to just get one or
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  two more and then we're probably not
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  even having this conversation
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  >> and that's the conversation that every
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  team in Auburn position has at this
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  point of every season is you want to
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  nitpick what's happening right now and
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  how you compare but in reality the
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  committee looks at every season in
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  totality and every season is its own
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  thing in totality. you if Auburn doesn't
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  make the tournament, it's not because of
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  what happened here in mid-March. It's
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  because of it's because of you losing at
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  home to Texas A&M. It's because of you
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  losing on the road. It's because of you
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  losing at home to miss because you're
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  losing on the road to to
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  >> and the same was true last year when
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  Auburn lost to&M and then lost to
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  Alabama and then came here and only won
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  one game. The committee didn't hold a
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  twoe span over the course of Auburn's
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  entire body of work.
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  >> No. No. And and again to Patrick's
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  point, the problem is not that maybe
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  like some other bubble teams that have
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  kind of cast, you know, fallen here at
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  the end. The problem is this is a month
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  plus span of mostly losses for the Sover
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  team. And when you really look at it,
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  again, we talked about that Kentucky win
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  so huge. If they do get in, I think
• 8:52
  Elijah Freeman's tip in will continue to
• 8:54
  be what pushed them because what have
• 8:55
  they done other than that Kentucky win?
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  They beat a really terrible LSU team
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  that ended up being the 16 seed. They
• 9:00
  beat them at home and then they got
• 9:02
  revenge for for for losing to
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  Mississippi State, but that's a team you
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  already lost to during the regular
• 9:06
  season. And so Auburn now gets to gets
• 9:09
  to sweat it out. I will say, you know,
• 9:11
  not much confirmation or anything here,
• 9:12
  but you know, I asked Steven Pearl if
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  they've had conversations about the NIT,
• 9:16
  like just, you know, hey, if you don't
• 9:17
  get selected, have you had conversations
• 9:18
  about going to that or another
• 9:19
  postseason event, and he said no.
• 9:21
  Obviously, they have, but you know, he
• 9:22
  he's using this as an opportunity to
• 9:24
  continue to
• 9:24
  >> they want to make the other thing first.
• 9:25
  >> Yes. They want to prop up their team.
• 9:27
  And it was I thought it was funny.
• 9:28
  Stephen was like he saw people get mad
• 9:30
  at him for making the the argument after
• 9:32
  the Alabama game. He kind of had a
• 9:34
  similar similar thing after that. And he
• 9:35
  was like, "Look guys, it's my job to
• 9:36
  like prop up my team." It would it would
• 9:38
  be concerning if you weren't
• 9:40
  >> like actually these guys just send them
• 9:42
  home then they don't need to play.
• 9:43
  Although obviously Auburn fans feel that
• 9:45
  way maybe at this point but uh you know
• 9:47
  after all of this we still will head
• 9:48
  into these last 72 hours um with a
• 9:51
  conversation to be had on the bubble and
• 9:52
  we'll still have to track what other
• 9:54
  teams are doing on the bubble. There's
• 9:56
  just so many conversations to be had.
• 9:57
  The Miami of Ohio conversation to be
• 9:58
  had. People are talking about you know
• 10:00
  hey just put those teams against each
• 10:01
  other. Call the Bruce Pearl Invitational
• 10:03
  and uh and make him get on he'll be on
• 10:04
  the selection.
• 10:05
  >> Make him go make him get on the call.
• 10:07
  give Miami Ohio a home game there in
• 10:09
  there in Dayton and just kind of see
• 10:10
  what happens. I've seen people bring up
• 10:11
  that like Texas has fallen so far off
• 10:13
  and Auburn owns a headto-head over them.
• 10:15
  Like it's it's just there's a lot really
• 10:16
  to to go off of here. But in terms of
• 10:19
  today, this is a
• 10:20
  >> this is a this is a crushing result.
• 10:22
  This is this is a painful result um for
• 10:24
  Auburn at this obviously this stage of
• 10:25
  the season just because you felt like
• 10:27
  legitimately for 30 minutes and you
• 10:28
  really were you were playing such a
• 10:30
  tremendous game. Um but now it is in the
• 10:31
  committee hands and maybe the hands of
• 10:33
  some other bubble team. So we'll see
• 10:34
  what happens. keep it locked over at
• 10:36
  auburncover.com.
• 10:37
  We will do our best to make sense of it
• 10:39
  all uh leading into uh Sunday evening
• 10:41
  where Auburn will learn whether it is a
• 10:42
  tournament team uh that gets to go to
• 10:44
  the first four or if the Steven Pearl
• 10:46
  year one of Steam Pearl era ends with
• 10:48
  either the season being over or another
• 10:50
  event. So for Patrick Bingham, I'm
• 10:51
  Nathan King. Thank you guys so much for
• 10:53
  joining us this week at the SC SEC
• 10:54
  tournament. We appreciate everybody
• 10:56
  watching our videos and uh and keeping
• 10:58
  track as Auburn won one game here, but
• 10:59
  we've been here since uh since Tuesday
• 11:01
  documenting things. So, we will see you
• 11:02
  guys back in Auburn for the selection
• 11:04
  show and for the start of spring
• 11:06
  practice next week. And we'll see you
• 11:07
  over at auburn undercover.com. Talk to
• 11:08
  you'all soon.