The Auburn Tigers enter the SEC Tournament firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, with their postseason chances uncertain after a difficult end to the regular season.
Auburn finished the regular season 16–14 overall and 7–10 in SEC play, losing seven of its final nine games. That late skid has dropped the Tigers from a relatively safe tournament position just weeks ago into one of the more debated teams on the selection committee’s board.
Head coach Steven Pearl’s squad did show moments of fight late in the year, highlighted by a 14-point win over LSU on senior night. Still, inconsistency has defined Auburn’s closing stretch. That trend continued in the regular-season finale, where the Tigers fell 96–84 to Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night.
Even with the defeat, Auburn is still clinging to a projected NCAA Tournament spot in several bracket forecasts.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has the Tigers as the final team included in the 68-team field, illustrating just how precarious their position has become. In Lunardi’s projection, Auburn sits as an 11-seed and would face VCU in a First Four play-in matchup.
“Auburn is gonna wake up in our field, even with a loss,” Lunardi said via AL.com. “We still need 68 teams and right now, on the at-large board, they’re number 37.”
There are 37 at-large selections available in the tournament bracket.
Not every projection is as favorable. CBS Sports currently lists Auburn as the first team left out, alongside New Mexico, Seton Hall and Indiana.
The Tigers now shift their focus to the SEC Tournament, where they are scheduled to open Wednesday against Mississippi State. A strong performance in Nashville could be Auburn’s best chance to eliminate the uncertainty surrounding its NCAA Tournament hopes.