UMBC had a March Madness “W” before they even took the court in the NCAA Tournament, thanks to their social media team.
The school’s social media account slam dunked on former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, who is the father of current head coach Steven Pearl, in a post to commemorate the school’s automatic bid into the Big Dance.
The elder Pearl has made headlines recently as he questioned the case for Miami (Ohio) to earn an at-large bid ahead of selection Sunday and lobbying for Auburn to get into the tournament.
Bruce Pearl on the Selection Sunday broadcast. Awful Announcing/X
“Just realized the best part of having an autobid is that we don’t need a relative going on tv to explain why we deserve to be in over a 30-win [Miami (Ohio)],” the UMBC athletics X account wrote in a post on Sunday night.
They weren’t the only ones to clown on the former college hoops coach.
SMU, which was one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament, took aim at Pearl in a post of their own.
The Post has you covered with a printable NCAA bracket featuring the full 68-team March Madness 2026 field.
“We can’t all be named Pearl,” SMU wrote on X.
The school had been replying to a post by the news site highlighting how Pearl had been advocating for Auburn to be in the tournament over SMU.
“There’s no question, you either got to win your way in, or lose your way out,” Pearl said on CBS during Selection Sunday. “For me I always say, ‘Okay, we’re going to put one in, who would you take out?’ For me, SMU with a 191 out-of-conference strength of schedule. I don’t know if they should’ve been rewarded. They only won five games away from home. And for me, it would’ve been either Oklahoma or Auburn taking that last spot.”
Bruce Pearl: “Auburn beat 3 champions this year. They beat Florida, they beat St. John’s, and they beat Arkansas. They played the toughest schedule in the country, don’t know if they were rewarded for it.” pic.twitter.com/8aUDmFRBo8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2026
UMBC’s Josh Odunowo holds the trophy after beating Vermont, 74-59, in the America East Tournament final at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Catonsville, Maryland. TNS
Auburn did not earn an at-large bid at the end of the day.
SMU will face Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday as part of the First Four.
UMBC will face Howard on Monday in the First Four.
