ESPN examines Auburn’s NCAA Tournament chances after loss to Oklahoma

The NCAA Tournament bubble chatter surrounding Auburn basketball faded slightly following the Tigers’ win over Kentucky last Saturday. However, it returned just as quickly as it left.

Auburn basketball fell on the road to Oklahoma on Tuesday, 91-79, to drop to 15-13 overall and 6-9 in SEC play. Although the game was a Quad 1 opportunity for Auburn, the loss was still a crucial blow for the tournament-minded Tigers as Oklahoma entered the game with a 13-14 record and a 3-11 mark against SEC teams. At one point this season, Oklahoma dropped nine straight SEC games.

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ESPN’s latest “bubble watch” was published on Wednesday morning, and did not provide a positive outlook for Auburn basketball’s NCAA Tournament chances. ESPN’s Neil Paine writes that the loss in Norman was not ideal for Auburn, but that the Tigers have a strong case to be considered for a tournament slot despite their recent hardship.

Although all but one of (Auburn’s) recent losses came against Quadrant 1 opponents, they have five Quadrant 1 wins against the nation’s fourth-most difficult schedule per the BPI, and remain top-40 in the national résumé ranking average. But those mounting losses do matter, and teams most similar to Auburn have tended to miss out on an at-large bid more often than not. Whatever happens, they will be an interesting litmus test for what the committee values.

Auburn dropped one spot in the NET ratings to No. 34 after losing to Oklahoma on Tuesday, and is now 5-11 against Quad 1 competition. The best win on Auburn’s schedule with three games remaining is over Florida, who is ranked No. 7 in the latest NET update. The Tigers also own wins over No. 20 Arkansas, No. 23 St. John’s, No. 27 NC State, and No. 29 Kentucky. Auburn is also 2-2 against Quad 2 teams with its worse loss coming to No. 96 Mississippi State.

Auburn has one more Quad 1 win on its schedule, its season finale at Alabama. Auburn will also have a Quad 3 opportunity against Ole Miss and a Quad 2 chance at home…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-examines-auburns-ncaa-tournament-170117874.html

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Publish date : 2026-02-25 17:01:00

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