With the team boasting plenty of high-quality wins but also owning a 16-15 overall record, Auburn is dominating headlines when it comes to talk around the college basketball bubble.
Some believe that the Tigers’ difficult schedule and notable victories over the likes of Florida, St. John’s, Kentucky and NC State should be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament.
Others would argue that hovering around .500 overall, going 7-11 in league play and losing 8 of the final 10 games on the schedule should prove to be disqualifying notes.
Amidst all of the noise, first-year head coach Steve Pearl is trying to advocate for his guys and the grueling slate they’ve faced, but he also acknowledges that his team has plenty of work to do when it begins its stay at the SEC Tournament in Nashville this week.
“We have enough quality wins to be deserving to be in this tournament but we understand that we’ve got to go to Nashville and we’ve got to make a run,” Pearl said.
To that point, the No. 12 Tigers have plenty of opportunities to bolster their résumé this week. An opening game against No. 13 Mississippi State at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday is a must-win, which would set up a Quad 1 date with No. 5 Tennessee.
A victory there is likely imperative to sure up Auburn’s tournament status, and a positive result in the quarterfinals against No. 4 Vanderbilt could make Pearl & Co. a lock for the big dance.
Top-seeded Florida also looms in the upper half of the bracket.
What will be Auburn’s fate? Kalshi is taking action on predictions!
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
