Auburn survives in victory over Seattle, advances to NIT quarterfinals
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Auburn didn’t do quite enough to get invited to the NCAA Tournament in 2026, 1 season after advancing all the way to the Final Four.
But the Tigers have gotten an opportunity for a consolation prize in Steven Pearl’s first season on the Plains, and it’s come in the NIT. On Sunday night in its home arena, despite Seattle draining 16 3-pointers, Auburn gathered itself and survived in a 91-85 second-round victory that sent the Tigers to the NIT quarterfinals.
The Tigers, whose 17-16 record going into Selection Sunday didn’t earn them that coveted NCAA Tournament berth, are now 19-16 and 3 wins away from possibly hanging a banner as NIT champions. They have a lot more work to do on that, and it will continue back at home on Tuesday night, with the tip-off time to be determined against Nevada, which beat Liberty, 73-63, on Saturday to advance.
Auburn is the top seed in its bracket, so it’ll continue to have that home-court advantage as it faces the No. 2 seed Wolf Pack this coming week for a shot to get to the NIT semis.
The Tigers had 4 players score in double figures to combat that ridiculous 3-point shooting by Seattle. Kevin Overton led the way for Auburn with 23 points, helping the Tigers continue to serve notice that they want to continue playing in March after not getting that NCAA bid.
Overton was hot himself from 3-point land, going 4 for 9 from long distance on Sunday night, to help Auburn stave off Seattle. Elyjah Freeman added 19 points and 7 rebounds for the Tigers, and he also was on fire from 3-point territory, going 4 for 5.
Freshman Sebastian Williams-Adams was perfect from the field, going 6 for 6, and chipped in 15 points for Pearl’s team off the bench, while Keyshawn Hall was a beast on the boards, finishing with 15 rebounds to go with his 9 points.
Seattle was led by Brayden Maldonado, who had 25 points and 5 assists, but the Redhawks (21-14) from the West Coast Conference couldn’t quite keep up with the Tigers despite shooting 52% from the field and from 3-point territory in making those 16 shots from long distance.
Auburn took a 42-31 halftime lead and had enough to keep moving on, as it tries to prove a point to the college basketball world after being denied on Selection Sunday. The Tigers dominated the boards with a 41-23 advantage over the Redhawks, and that helped them survive another challenge as they try to hang that NIT banner instead of having a shot to get back to the Final Four.
Auburn won’t have a chance to return to the Final Four, where it fell short in the semifinals last season, but here is what the Kalshi market currently sees for the top teams in the mix to get to Indianapolis next month:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
