NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Auburn coach Steven Pearl made his own case Thursday for the Tigers capping his debut season with an NCAA Tournament berth.

“We deserve to be in the tournament,” Pearl said after Auburn’s fourth loss in six games.

His Tigers had a chance in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament to push themselves off the bubble leading No. 25 Tennessee 32-25 at halftime and holding a 51-41 lead with 10:26 left. Instead, Auburn now must wait and hope after leaving with a 72-62 loss.

Asked if Auburn would accept a spot in the National Invitation Tournament, Pearl quickly went on what he called a “rant” even as he calmly laid out his Tigers’ resume.

“It’s my job to fight for my team,” Pearl said. “It’s my job to be my team’s advocate. It’s my job to speak about all the things that this group’s done.”

Pearl pointed to a schedule rated third in the nation for toughness, a schedule that included Houston, Purdue and No. 2 Arizona. A trip to the Players Era event in Las Vegas. Thursday’s second-round SEC Tournament game was the 17th Quad 1 game this season for Auburn, tied for most in the country.

Auburn won at defending national champ and current SEC regular-season champ Florida, at home against Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina State and on a neutral site against St. John’s.

Pearl said to look at the six teams on the bubble right now in Texas, SMU, VCU, Miami (Ohio), Missouri and New Mexico. By whatever metric used, Pearl said his Tigers (17-16) are better than every team in that group in at least five of seven categories.

“This team deserves to be in the tournament,” Pearl said. “It’s a team that can win games in the tournament. I think they’ve done enough ultimately to have their name called on Selection Sunday.” ___

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