Did Bruce Pearl just one up Charles Barkley?

Minutes after Alabama beat top-seeded North Carolina 89-87 to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history, the Auburn coach indirectly called out Charles Barkley.

“You are not going to hear coach Bruce Pearl say, ‘Roll Tide,’ OK?” Pearl exclaimed late Thursday night as a special studio analyst on TBS. “It takes two Ls to spell Roll Tide. A good day is when we win, and they lose.”

The reference was to Barkley, a former Auburn star, who gave a pre-game, country twang “Roll Tide” prior to the start of the game. He predicted Alabama to win the game.

Pearl, who is just as entertaining, was kidding, of course.

“But you know what?” he continued. “My hats off to them. They played great. Grant Nelson? He was a monster.”

Nelson converted a go-ahead three-point play with 38 seconds left, and he finished with a season-high 24 points, 19 in the second half, and he blocked RJ Davis’ attempt at a tying layup after giving Alabama the lead.

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“He did it inside,” Pearl said of Nelson. “He did it outside. Notice in some of the last possessions, he got stops when he got switched off on (UNC’s) RJ Davis but that is a toughness he didn’t have early in the SEC season.

“Those kids never lost confidence in him. … He was the difference.”

North Carolina is now 13-3 in Sweet 16 games in the program’s history. Pearl was informed two of those defeats came to schools from the state of Alabama, including to Auburn as the Tigers – under Pearl – reached the Final Four in 2019.

“SEC, SEC, SEC,” Pearl chanted.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.