UMBC Scores a Social Media Win Ahead of March Madness

Thanks to their lively social media efforts, UMBC celebrated what they called a “win” even before stepping onto the court for the NCAA Tournament.

The school’s social media channels took a jab at Bruce Pearl, the former head coach at Auburn, who happens to be the father of their current coach, Stephen Pearl. This came in a post marking UMBC’s automatic entry into the tournament.

Pearl had recently stirred some buzz by questioning the qualifications of Miami (Ohio) for an at-large bid and advocating for Auburn’s inclusion ahead of the selection announcement.

“I now see that the best thing about getting an automatic bid is not having to send relatives on TV to justify why we should be in with 30 wins or so,” the UMBC Athletics account mentioned in a Sunday night tweet.

They weren’t alone in their light-hearted criticism of Pearl. SMU, another NCAA Tournament team, also took a shot at him in one of their posts.

In a playful response to a news article detailing Pearl’s argument for Auburn’s inclusion over SMU, they quipped, “Not all of us can be named Pearl.”

Pearl himself had noted on CBS during the selection process, “We’re either moving forward or getting knocked out. I mean, how do you choose who goes in? SMU had a non-conference schedule of 191 hours with only five road wins. It’s tough to justify giving them a spot over Oklahoma or Auburn.”

It’s worth mentioning that as the day ended, Auburn did not receive an at-large bid. Meanwhile, SMU is set to face Miami (Ohio) in the First Four on Wednesday, while UMBC will take on Howard in their First Four game on Monday.