Auburn Tournament Projections Hold After Florida Loss, But For How Long?

A rough loss over the weekend was unable to rock the Auburn Tigers tournament projections.

Both ESPN and Bleacher Report still rank Auburn as the top basketball team in the country in their updated Bracketologies for the week.

According to ESPN, the Tigers remain the No. 1 seed in the South Region (Atlanta) and still are starting off in Lexington, Ky. They’re predicted to take on the winner of the First Four matchup between American and Little Rock (Ark.). American is the automatic qualifier from the Patriot League and Little Rock is the automatic qualifier from the Ohio Valley Conference.

Bleacher Report’s projection is identical.

Since the projection came out Tuesday morning, it does not include Auburn’s pouncing of Vanderbilt. That will apply to next week’s projections along with the upcoming top-two matchup against Alabama.

It will be the first time ever that this will be a top-two matchup.

If Auburn’s spot wasn’t already a lock, then a win in this matchup would be what it takes to lock it in. Even if they lose, if it’s a tight game and Auburn plays well, they should stay a No. 1 seed the rest of the way.

However, if the Tigers get crushed again like they did against Florida, then cracks could start to show. This could open the doors for Florida, Alabama and Duke to all make a run for the top spot.

So this weekend will determine if this trend continues. The Tigers take on the Crimson Tide on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.