By David Ching, special to AL.com
Bruce Pearl has a theory about why his Auburn Tigers are a top-five team in the eyes of the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee.
It's not how the Tigers (22-3, 10-2 SEC) play on their home court so much as how they fare away from Auburn Arena.
"First of all, 10 wins away from home, I think, is significant," Pearl told reporters on Monday. "Some of the (scheduling) decisions like going to Dayton, going to Murray State, playing Middle (Tennessee) at a neutral site - those are hard decisions to play Middle and Murray, and those decisions got rewarded.