CBS Sports and TNT Sports analyst Bruce Pearl has caused quite a stir in the college basketball world with his commentary about the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks over the last two weeks. It all began when Pearl questioned the NCAA Tournament at-large case for unbeaten Miami (Ohio) on February 28.
Now, not only does Pearl think Miami should be in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but he’s also even “rooting” for a second MAC team to be part of the Big Dance.
During Sunday’s college basketball coverage on CBS (which featured a women’s basketball blunder from Pearl), the studio crew discussed potential bid-stealers for the NCAA Tournament. Pearl mentioned the MAC’s Akron Zips.
Pearl made it clear that, despite initially questioning if Miami would make the Big Dance without winning the MAC Tournament to secure an autobid, which created all of this drama, he now thinks the RedHawks “are in.” And he would like to see Akron win the MAC Tournament so that the conference has two NCAA Tournament representatives instead of only Miami.
“They may not be the best team in the MAC,” Pearl said about Miami. “It might be Akron. It might be the Zips. Five years in a row, they’ve won 22-plus games…. I’m rooting for Akron to make the upset, that way two teams get to the NCAA Tournament out of the MAC.”
Bruce Pearl: “[Miami (Ohio)] may not be the best team in the MAC. It might be Akron… I’m rooting for Akron to make the upset, that way 2 (MAC) teams get to the NCAA Tournament.”
Adam Zucker: “You’re putting Miami (Ohio) in?”
Pearl: “I’m putting Miami (Ohio) in! They’re in!” pic.twitter.com/VO7sD3jLfm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 8, 2026
While at first glance it might seem crazy to suggest a MAC team is actually better than 31-0 Miami, that really could be the case with Akron. The Zips are 26-5 and went 17-1 in MAC play, with the only loss being by three points at Miami in January. Akron (No. 61) even slots in much higher than Miami (90) on the Ken Pomeroy efficiency ratings and is the betting favorite to win the MAC Tournament.
But Pearl’s analysis of Miami and the bubble has been all over the place in the last two weeks, and it almost feels like he was bullied into showing public support for the RedHawks, the MAC, and mid-majors, especially after how much criticism he’s heard about nepotism and supporting an Auburn team coached by his son, Steven.
On March 2, Pearl doubled down on his Miami thoughts and suggested that the RedHawks would be in the mix to finish in last place in the Big East. He also claimed, “There’s no nepotism involved here,” regarding his Miami criticism and Auburn support. That round of comments led to livid Miami athletic director David Sayler saying that Pearl “should be nowhere near a TV studio covering this sport.” ESPN’s Joe Lunardi even said that Pearl, a former longtime college basketball coach (including for Auburn from 2014 to 2025), should leave bracketology “to the professionals.”
And on Wednesday, Pearl proudly admitted that nepotism landed Steven the Auburn coaching position, which ESPN and SEC voice Paul Finebaum called “pretty embarrassing.”
The Miami commentary became such a big story that it led to Pearl interviewing RedHawks head coach Travis Steele during Saturday’s college basketball coverage on TNT Sports. Pearl told Steele that it’s “just business” and “not personal.”
Now, in a change of course, Pearl is supporting Miami as an at-large team and hopes two MAC teams get into the NCAA Tournament. Along with possibly being pressured into that commentary, maybe Pearl finally realized how weak the bubble picture is, even while his son still touts the NCAA Tournament case for 15-loss Auburn.
