Auburn falls out of Joe Lunardi’s projected NCAA Tournament field due to Miami (OH) loss
By David Wasson
Published:
Bracketology is hitting hot and heavy as the NCAA Tournament looms, with every win and loss theoretically affecting every team that hasn’t already earned an automatic bid into the 2026 version of March Madness.
That includes the travails of both Miami (OH) and Auburn, two teams that were linked earlier this season when former Tigers coach Bruce Pearl opined on TNT that the RedHawks didn’t deserve an at-large bid if they didn’t win the MAC Tournament.
The drama continued Thursday when Miami’s undefeated season came to a crashing halt in the MAC quarterfinals at the hands of UMass. Minutes after the Minutemen pulled off the upset to send the RedHawks to 31-1 and into at-large consideration, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released a fresh Bracketology that saw Auburn back out of the Field of 68.
Auburn, coached by Pearl’s son Steven, earned a 79-61 victory over Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday to improve to 17-15 overall. Despite that win, the Tigers are now on the outside looking in as one of Lunardi’s “First Four Out” teams heading into their second-round matchup Thursday against No. 25 Tennessee (3 pm ET, SEC Network).
Tennessee outlasted Auburn 77-69 in Knoxville in their previous meeting Feb. 1 – a loss that kicked off the Tigers’ five-game losing streak.
Here’s the latest odds on Kalshi for Auburn and other SEC bubble teams:
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
