Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, now an analyst with CBS Sports, said the Tigers weren't rewarded for their strength of schedule after being left out of the NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday.

Pearl, who led Auburn to the No. 1 overall seed last season before retiring and handing off the duties to his son, Steven Pearl, also questioned SMU's resume as a Last Four In team. He said Oklahoma and Auburn, the first two teams out of the bracket, could've been deserving of a bit.

"Auburn beat three champions this year," Pearl said during the bracket reveal. "They beat Florida, they beat St. John's and they beat Arkansas. They played the toughest schedule in the country; don't know they were rewarded for it. It's hard to get a couple more SEC teams in when the SEC already has 10 teams in."

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Pearl acknowledged teams have to "win their way in or lose their way out." Auburn finished the season with a 17-16 record and stumbled at the end of the season, losing nine of its last 12 games.

Pearl said if any of the teams should've been left out of the bracket, it would've been SMU for him.

"SMU with a 191(-ranked) out of conference strength schedule," he said. "That, I don't know that they should've been rewarded. They only won five games away from home. For me, it would've been either Oklahoma or Auburn taking that last spot."

Pearl was critical of Miami (Ohio) in the lead up to the NCAA Tournament, stating he felt the RedHawks needed to win the MAC tournament to reach the big dance. Otherwise, Miami (Ohio) should've been left out despite going undefeated in the regular season.

Miami (Ohio) made the NCAA Tournament on March 15, and is facing SMU in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

"Here's the deal," Pearl said. "Are we going to select the 68 most deserving teams? Or are we going to select the 68 best teams? If we're selecting the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion, because as an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country, and that's going to be a difficult choice for the committee."

Auburn goes from Final Four to First Four Out in one season and now looks forward to 2026-27, when maybe Pearl won't need to argue for the Tigers to reach the NCAA Tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Pearl says Auburn wasn't rewarded for 'toughest schedule' by NCAA