Take a look at the Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings. Go ahead, do it. The Kentucky Wildcats, led by head coach John Calipari, are at the top. Right below them sit the Bruce Pearl-guided Auburn Tigers, who boast an identical 25-6 overall record.
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The SEC released its postseason awards this week and somehow got it wrong. Coach Calipari took home SEC Coach of the Year honors despite Pearl clearly deserving it more. How is it that Auburn's head coach, who took the Tigers to their first-ever Final Four last year and have them ready for another SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament run, hasn't received coach of the year recognition in either season?
Bruce Pearl was 100-percent snubbed, and someone needs to hear it.
Why Bruce Pearl Deserved SEC Coach of the Year
We win, we dance. 😎#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/tSbKmmdruI
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 7, 2020
Never mind that Auburn has lost four of its last seven games, three of which came against shoddy opponents like Missouri, Georgia and Texas A&M. Look at the body of work.
The Tigers are 12-6 in SEC play, which is tied with the LSU Tigers for second place.
Pearl and Co. began the year 15-0. They picked up a big win over the Kentucky Wildcats at home on February 1, took care of LSU at home in overtime during the regular season and are currently the only other conference team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 besides Kentucky.
?Here's the thing, though: Pearl has done more, if not the same, with less talent than Calipari.
Calipari has two First-Team All-SEC players at his disposal, one of which is SEC Player of the Year Immanuel Quickley. Auburn has one in Samir Doughty.
Kentucky has reeled in the No. 2 recruiting class each of the last three years. Auburn's best class in that span was last year, when Pearl posted the No. 20 recruiting class still behind SEC programs like UK, Florida and Georgia.
Shoot, in 2018, Auburn didn't even crack the top-10 recruiting classes in the conference.
https://twitter.com/GaineyElijah/status/1237397337305161728?s=20
Pearl isn't nabbing five-star recruits left and right like Calipari, yet here Auburn is once again primed for a postseason run under the 59-year-old college basketball coach.
What's even crazier is that the Associated Press overlooked Pearl altogether and tabbed another men's basketball coach, Texas A&M's Buzz Williams, as the SEC Coach of the Year. Huh? The Aggies are sixth in the conference.
I get that Pearl has a troubled past with NCAA violations and what not, but this is a little ridiculous. Give the guy some freakin' credit.
2020 SEC Men's Basketball Postseason Awards:
First Team All-SEC
Kira Lewis Jr., Alabama
Mason Jones, Arkansas
Samir Doughty, Auburn
Keyontae Johnson, Florida
Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky
Nick Richards, Kentucky
Skylar Mays, LSU
Breein Tyree, Ole Miss
Reggie Perry, Mississippi State
Second Team All-SEC
John Petty Jr., Alabama
Isaac Okoro, Auburn
Kerry Blackshear Jr., Florida
Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
Maik Kotsar, South Carolina
John Fulkerson, Tennessee
Saben Lee, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman Team
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama
Isaac Okoro, Auburn
Scottie Lewis, Florida
Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
Trendon Watford, LSU
Jermaine Couisnard, South Carolina
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
All-Defensive Team
Herbert Jones, Alabama
Isaac Okoro, Auburn
Ashton Hagans, Kentucky
Nick Richards, Kentucky
Yves Pons, Tennessee
Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky
Player of the Year: Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Skylar Mays, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Anthony Edwards, Georgia
Sixth-Man of the Year: Tyson Carter, Mississippi State
Defensive Player of the Year: Yves Pons, Tennessee
