Travis Steele Dismisses Bruce Pearl’s Comments About Miami (Ohio)’s Tournament Résumé

One of the biggest storylines coming out of last weekend in college basketball was legendary former coach Bruce Pearl going on national television and openly discussing his belief that undefeated Miami (Ohio) may not be deserving of a bid to the men’s NCAA tournament unless the program wins the MAC.

“Miami (Ohio), here’s the deal. Are we gonna select the 68 most deserving teams or the 68 best teams?” Pearl said over the weekend. “If we’re going to select the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is gonna have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion. Because an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country. And that’s going to be a difficult choice for the committee to make.”

Does 29-0 Miami (OH) deserve a March Madness bid? 🤔@JalenRose, @coachbrucepearl & @jamalmashburn debate the nation's only undefeated team 👀 pic.twitter.com/VyXizQgApa
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) February 28, 2026

Pearl was immediately criticized in the wake of his comments, especially considering that his son is coaching an Auburn team that is very much on the bubble and could get into the field in this scenario, at the RedHawks’ expense.

Since Pearl’s comments, Miami (Ohio) has won once again—by two points on Tuesday against Toledo on Senior Night to clinch a regular season MAC title for the first time in more than two decades.

RedHawks coach Travis Steele was asked about Pearl’s comments from over the weekend, and the fourth-year coach politely dismissed them.

“Number one, I’m gonna address Bruce. I like Bruce. I do. Bruce is a great guy. But I’m not calling Bruce and asking him his opinion on our team,” Steele quipped after the win over the Rockets on Tuesday night. “All respect to Bruce. Bruce is a better coach than I’ll ever be. He’s a Hall of Famer. He’s won everywhere he’s been. I [couldn’t] care less about what the heck he says. We control our own destiny. Let’s prepare the right way and let’s focus on the right things.”

Travis Steele:

"I like Bruce (Pearl). Bruce is a great guy. But I'm not calling Bruce and asking him for his opinion on our team. All respect to Bruce, he's a way better coach than I'll ever be. He's a Hall of Famer... But we control our own destiny."pic.twitter.com/ym9iho65mG
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 4, 2026

Travis Steele reacts to Miami (Ohio) clinching first MAC title in 21 years

Beating Toledo clinched Miami (Ohio)’s first regular season MAC title in 21 years. It’s something that Steele is certainly proud of his team for accomplishing, but there’s still plenty left to play for as far as Steele is concerned.

“[I’m] probably [going to celebrate] for 45 minutes in the car on my ride home,” Steele added with a smile. “We gotta move on quick to Ohio, man. We still have a lot of season left. But listen, this is a big deal. This is awesome. I’m so happy for our guys. That was one of our goals that we had at the beginning of the year, to win the regular season title—check. Now I want to finish this season undefeated. I want to win at Ohio. That’s a rivalry game. It’s a players game. Our guys are gonna be excited to play and I know their guys will be excited to play as well. And then can we go win the MAC tournament up in Cleveland? That is the goal. We want to leave absolutely no doubt. We want to leave no doubt about who the heck we are.”

The RedHawks will look to complete a perfect 31–0 regular season with a road game against the Bobcats on Friday night.

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