Auburn learns postseason fate upon NCAA Tournament bracket reveal
By David Wasson
Published:
The Auburn Tigers, squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble throughout the last two weeks, learned their March Madness fate during Sunday’s Selection Show.
Auburn is out.
Despite a No. 38 NET ranking and high-profile victories against SEC regular-season champion Florida and Big East Tournament champion St. John’s, the Tigers (17-16) were left out of the 68-team NCAA Tournament by the selection committee Sunday night.
Despite earning a 79-61 victory against Mississippi State in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, Auburn had been among the “First Four Out” teams according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi all week. The Tigers held a second-half lead against Tennessee in the second round before falling 72-62 and were also hurt when Miami (OH) lost in the MAC Tournament – dropping the RedHawks into at-large consideration.
Auburn lost eight of 10 games to close out the regular season, including a tough 85-79 home loss to Ole Miss on Feb. 28 and a 96-84 road setback against arch-rival Alabama on March 7. But the Tigers won their opening-round SEC Tournament game 79-61 against Mississippi State to help solidify their chances and nearly advanced to the quarterfinals before blowing a second-half lead against Tennessee.
Auburn’s X account was active in promoting the team’s accomplishments after the loss to the Volunteers – pointing out the Tigers held the No. 14 offense in the country according to KenPom, earned more wins against projected NCAA Tournament teams than any program on the bubble and held a higher NET ranking than all other bubble teams.
Which team will finish the Road to the Final Four and cut down the nets in Indianapolis with a national title? Check out Kalshi’s odds on who wins the NCAA Tournament!
Auburn played the third-ranked strength of schedule in the nation, played the second-most Quad 1 games in the nation (17), and earned victories against Big East Tournament champ St. John’s and SEC regular season champ Florida (Auburn’s first win in Gainesville since 1996).
In his first season as head coach, Steven Pearl faced 11 head coaches who have directed teams to the Final Four and earned five wins in those games – beating John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm, Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks, Todd Golden’s Florida Gators and Chris Beard’s Ole Miss Rebels.
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.
