Four SEC teams earn spots in Elite Eight; ‘that’s pretty good,’ Auburn coach Bruce Pearl deadpans

“Four teams from the SEC in the Elite Eight,” Bruce Pearl noted in his opening statement, “that’s pretty good.”

The Tigers will play No. 2-seeded Michigan State at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday (TV: CBS) in Atlanta for the right to advance to the Final Four.

As the 16,743 fans that jammed State Farm Arena could attest, it could have easily been five SEC teams in the Elite Eight had Ole Miss been able to overcome a 22-10 free-throw disparity and beat Big Ten regular season champ Michigan State in its 73-70 loss.

Indeed, it appeared many Ole Miss followers stayed to support their SEC brethren; the league’s fans cognizant of the history unfolding before their eyes.

The once-powerful ACC —down to just one team (Duke) in the Sweet 16 — was the most recent conference to send this many teams into Elite Eight when North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia and Notre Dame turned the trick in 2016.

It might not be likely, but it’s still possible there’s an All-SEC Final Four in San Antonio next week.

Duke appears to be the biggest hurdle of such history going down, but Alabama is arguably the hottest of the SEC teams. That showdown of the East Regional’s top-two seeds at 8:49 p.m. (TV: TBS) on Saturday figures to be a good one.

The Tide set an NCAA tournament record in its 113-88 East Regional win over BYU in Newark, N.J., on Thursday night, sinking 25 shots from beyond the 3-point line.

Of course, SEC tournament champ Florida might argue its case as the most likely team from the league to win what would be the conference’s first national championship since 2012 Kentucky.

The Gators have won nine straight games since losing at Georgia, 88-83, back on Feb. 25.

Florida, the No. 1-seed in the West Regional in San Francisco, pulled away from Maryland for an 87-71 win after escaping two-time defending NCAA tourney champ UConn in the Round of 32 (77-75), snapping the Huskies’ 13-game tourney streak in the process.

Florida takes on No. 3-seed Texas Tech at 6:09 p.m. on Saturday (TV: TBS) after the Red Raiders needed overtime to come from behind against No. 10 seed Arkansas.

The Razorbacks, coached by the last SEC coach to win the NCAA tournament — John Calipari, while at Kentucky — led by as many as 16 before just enough shots rimmed out and just enough whistles were blown for a 16-point lead to dissipate.

Tennessee is the fourth and lowest-ranked SEC team standing after controlling their border state grudge match with Kentucky on Friday night in Indianapolis.

The No. 2-seeded Vols scored a 78-65 win over the Wildcats on Friday night in Indianapolis and advances to play No. 1-seeded Houston at 2:20 p.m. on Sunday (TV: CBS).

Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars are 0-2 against SEC teams this season, having lost to Auburn (74-69) back on Nov. 9 in Houston and Alabama (85-80, OT) on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas.

Sampson declared the SEC the best conference in the country during the Cougars’ opening round appearance in Wichita.

Big Ten stalwart Purdue very nearly made the veteran coach eat his words late Friday night, taking Houston down to the wire in a 62-60 contest.

As much as SEC dominance will be a story in the Tennessee-Houston matchup, so too will be the futility Rick Barnes has had in trying to reach a Final Four.

Barnes has made it to the Final Four just once in the 28 NCAA tournaments he has made over his 37 seasons as a head coach, with Texas in 2003.

If there’s a time for Barnes to match that feat, it would seem most likely to happen in this year of the SEC’s unprecedented dominance.

The league has already set one record for most teams in an NCAA tourney field (14), while matching others for most in a Sweet 16 (seven), and now Elite Eight (four).

As unlikely as it once seemed, the football-mad SEC has found its place atop March Madness as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament roars into its homestretch.