After a last-minute loss to Arkansas that ended Auburn’s time in the SEC men’s basketball tournament, Bruce Pearl couldn’t help but feel bad for all the fans that made the trek to Nashville only to leave disappointed.

Arkansas held on to a 76-73 win after a Wendell Green last-second three-point attempt just missed that would have sent the game into overtime. Auburn’s loss to the Razorbacks in the second round marked the second consecutive year the Tigers lost in their first game of the SEC tournament. Last year as a No. 1 seed, Auburn received a double bye only to lose to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals.

“Auburn once again shows up here in Nashville. I feel so badly about our fans the fact that we’re not going to get to play in front of them again for a couple days,” Pearl said. “I do feel badly about that. A lot of families are here, went to a lot of expense to get there. So, we’re disappointed that we let them down.”

Pearl said the entire team is so grateful for the support it gets from the fanbase. Inside Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night, Auburn fans out-numbered Arkansas fans and made their presence heard whenever the Tigers went on a run. Arkansas jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game that quieted the crowd but Auburn battled its way back multiple times to have a chance to win it at the end. Allen Flanigan scored the go-ahead basket with 39 seconds left in the game to give the Tigers a one-point lead, but Nick Smith won it on a jumper on the next possession.

Auburn fans will now have to wait until Sunday to find out where the Tigers will be headed for the NCAA Tournament. Pearl said after the game he told the team he felt Auburn could be seeded anywhere from a No. 8 seed to a No. 10 seed in the tournament. In the most recent ESPN bracketology Thursday night, Auburn is slated as a No. 9 seed in the West Region and would play its first game against Florida Atlantic in Sacramento.