With the college basketball regular season now over, all eyes are set on March Madness.

Conference tournaments are still ongoing, but for a team like Auburn, that will do little to change its fate in the NCAA Tournament. But with the focus now on the postseason, one major talking point is the No. 1 overall seed.

Auburn remains the favorite for it despite two losses to end the regular season, carrying a nation-leading 16 Quad I wins. Duke, its biggest competition for the top spot, has seven.

Steven Pearl, Auburn’s associate head coach, was interviewed by The Next Round on Tuesday, where he was asked about the possibility of Duke being in play for the No. 1 overall seed.

“If that’s still in play then the whole purpose of scheduling the way we scheduled and playing in the league we played in, it’s pointless,” Pearl said on the show. “I think it sets a dangerous precedent, in my opinion.”

Despite feeling like his team is more than deserving of the spot, Pearl went on to say that having the No. 1 overall seed “is not important at all,” emphasizing the importance of being one of the one-seeds, playing at a regional site close to home and the matchups themselves.

This year, Auburn is projected to play its first and second round games in Lexington and Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games in Atlanta. Being the No. 1 overall seed would put the Tigers in Atlanta for sure, but it’s still likely even without it.

Pearl also talked about comparing Auburn and Duke’s resumes, explaining why he thinks the Tigers should have the edge.

“If you look at our body of work, it doesn’t compare when you’re looking at Duke’s resume. It’s not even close, actually. The only thing they have on us is the head-to-head at their place,” Pearl said. “We have nine more Quad I victories than they do. We have seven more Quad I plus Quad II victories, we played in the toughest conference in the history of college basketball, and we won it with a week to go.”

Auburn will start the postseason on Friday, facing either Ole Miss, Arkansas or South Carolina in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Tipoff is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m