Bruce Pearl absolutely blasts officials in epic tirade

The Auburn Tigers fell just short against the No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday night. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was irate following the loss and blasted the officials for their lack of calls down the stretch.

Auburn entered the game on the bubble for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. A win over a top team like Alabama would essentially punch its tournament ticket. The incredibly crushing loss led to Pearl screaming in frustration about the officials in a postgame radio interview.

A video of the interview was posted by an Alabama alumni on Twitter, showing Pearl losing his mind about his players “getting smashed” without foul calls being made.

“Obviously they made some plays. We had a hard time staying in front of them at the end of the day. I’m just sick and tired of our guys getting SMASHED down there, SMASHED!”

Pearl went on to say that he believes that was a game that Auburn needed to make the NCAA Tournament. This only added to his frustration.

“We needed that one to make the NCAA [Tournament]. We’ll get ready to play Tennessee. We were incredibly outmanned at the end. Three or four guys on the bench in foul trouble, JOKE,” Pearl screamed as he walked off in frustration.

This all-time rant from Pearl certainly caught the attention of the college basketball world. Many couldn’t help but laugh at this incredibly intense interview.

To be fair to Bruce Pearl, the game was incredibly physical. It even featured an altercation between the two teams leading to two Alabama players getting ejected.

Auburn was called for 29 compared to 20 fouls on Alabama in the game, so Pearl may actually have a reason for his frustration. Regardless, he and Auburn will need to keep their focus on their next game against Tennessee. Winning that game could still keep their hopes alive for an NCAA Tournament bid.

[Chase Thornton on Twitter]