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Bruce Pearl is defending his bias towards Auburn—now coached by his son and on the bubble to make March Madness—after saying 30-0 Miami (Ohio) should not get an at-large bid and should only be in the tournament if they win their conference. Pearl admitted: "Am I rooting for my son to make the NCAA tournament? Of course I am. Did I help my son get the job? Nepotism? Of course I did." The former Auburn coach made a case against the undefeated RedHawks, saying they not even be the best team in the MAC and are "not built for the grind of a Big Ten or even a Big East. In the Big East conference this year, they'd finish in the lower half." It prompted a critical response from Miami athletic director David Sayler, who said: "This guy belongs nowhere near a TV studio concerning anything to do with March Madness when he says things like this. [It's] the story of a school like Miami versus the story of the 11th place SEC team or 12th place Big Ten team that nobody really wants to see. It just goes against everything that's at the heart and soul of college basketball." (🎥 via @ddakich, @outkickthecoverage, @dontatmedd)