Auburn to host in NIT after missing NCAA Tournament
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Auburn’s 2025-26 season will continue. The Tigers missed out on the NCAA Tournament, but will play Tuesday in NIT action.
Steven Pearl’s team is the No. 1 seed in this year’s NIT. Auburn is set to host South Alabama on Tuesday night, with a scheduled tipoff of 9 p.m. CT/10 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN2.
Will Auburn keep its season going? Kalshi is taking prediction action on AU’s game against South Alabama!
Auburn finds itself in the NIT after coming up just short of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were long established as on the bubble, and Pearl along with his father, former Auburn coach and current media analyst Bruce Pearl, vocally campaigned for Auburn to be included in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
AU posted a 17-16 record in Steven Pearl’s first season as head coach, succeeding his father. The Tigers had the nation’s No. 3 strength of schedule and posted wins over seven NCAA Tournament teams (No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 St. John’s, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 11 Texas, No. 11 NC State and No. 15 Queens). AU, though, lost 8 of its last 10 regular-season games and a 1-1 showing in the SEC Tournament wasn’t enough to sway the selection committee.
If Auburn wins Tuesday, it will host either Seattle University or St. Thomas. Round 2 will also be played at Neville Arena.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
