Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl voiced his frustration with the officiating following his team's overtime loss to No. 2 Alabama on Wednesday night.

While speaking with the Voice of the Auburn Tigers Andy Burcham in a postgame interview, Pearl blasted the officials after three of his starters, Johni Broome, Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams, fouled out. He called it a "joke" because his players had been getting "smashed."

“We played well. We played hard. We should have won the game,” Pearl can be heard saying in audio captured on Auburn's "Courtside Cam." “Very, very disappointing. You know, 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!”

The coach was asked about what kind of message he would give to his team after the tough 90-85 loss.

“[T]hey played hard and played well,” he replied. “If that’s the number one team in the country, you know, come on the road in a hostile environment. But we needed that one to get in the NCAA [Tournament], and we didn’t get it. Dylan Cardwell's hurt. He's probably not going to play against Tennessee because of his injury. We need his physicality. He got fouled down there at the ... end of the game."

"We’ll get ready to play Tennessee,” Pearl added. “We were incredibly outmanned at the end. Three, four guys on the bench in foul trouble. Joke!”

According to Tuscaloosa News' Nick Kelly, Pearl threw his headset in frustration upon ending the interview with Burcham.

To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email trent.baker@1819news.com.

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