Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Auburn After Disappointing SEC Tournament
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had strong words for the one-seed in the SEC Tournament and No. 1 overall seed. “Step up your game!” he said in the middle of a rant. Despite the Tigers having a brief rest after their long and arduous regular season, the Tigers were still knocked out in the tournament semifinals by the Tennessee Volunteers in just the Tigers’ second game of the tournament.
The sports analyst referenced many things in his discussion with Hall-of-Fame NFL tight end and co-host on First Take, Shannon Sharpe. The first of these goes back to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were a four-seed and faced off against the Ivy League’s Yale Bulldogs in the first round. The Bulldogs were the 13-seed at the time. It wasn’t pretty for the Tigers. The Tigers were knocked off by the Bulldogs 78-76 in a shocking upset.
To put it lightly, Smith didn’t hold back on his thoughts.
“You’re right about Auburn, Shannon (Sharpe). I’m a huge fan of Bruce Pearl. You lose three of your last four games heading into the tournament. What the hell is going on?” Smith said. Then directing his rant at the actual team, he said, “You got bounced out last year in the first round. Y’all are supposed to have an attitude. Auburn, what’s up? What’s up Auburn? Are you going home early again, is that what you’re going to do?”
While the Tigers should be able to handle their first-round matchup this time, there is a very real possibility of going home early. On top of that, Yale is back in their region as a 13-seed. However, the earliest the two teams could play is in the Sweet 16. Some commentators and analysts such as the legendary Dick Vitale have Auburn losing in that round or even earlier. We will find out if Auburn is up to the task later this week.
Auburn will start tournament play on Thursday, March 20. They will play the winner of the First Four game between Alabama State and Saint Francis. Tip-off is set for 2:50 p.m. and the game will air on CBS.
