ESPN Still Has Case for Auburn Tournament Berth This Season

The Auburn Tigers still have hope for the NCAA Tournament, despite losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide 96-84 Saturday evening in Tuscaloosa. While Auburn’s Tournament case is in a tough place, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi still believes the Tigers are among the last four teams in.

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— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 8, 2026

On Saturday evening, the Tigers were dominated by Alabama. Auburn was out-rebounded 42-28 in the matchup against the Crimson Tide, often showing signs of laziness on the glass. Despite it being only a 12-point loss, the game was one-sided throughout. Which makes it head-scratching that Auburn is still clinging onto one of the last four in spots.

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Over the final 10 games of the season, Auburn only won two matchups. Those two wins were against the Kentucky Wildcats and the LSU Tigers. However, Auburn also lost to quite a few teams that, on paper, they should not have lost. Those losses include Tennessee, Alabama (twice), Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Ole Miss.

Auburn has a Quad 3 loss, which was from when the Tigers lost at home to the Ole Miss Rebels, who were on a 10-game losing streak at the time. At the time of that loss, Auburn was pushed to the brink of not making the tournament, being considered in the first four out spots. But with teams in the first four spots losing and Auburn winning against LSU, it propelled Auburn into being considered the last four in.

And now, even despite the dominant loss to Alabama, Auburn still clings on to a last four in spot. However, just because Auburn still has that spot at this moment does not mean it will remain that way. The SEC Tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, in Nashville, Tenn. Auburn is scheduled to play against a foe that they fell to during the final 10-game stretch of the season, being Mississippi State.

The last time these teams matched up, Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard went nuclear, scoring 46 points enroute to a 91-85 victory for the Bulldogs. Auburn is now presented with a chance to not only avenge that loss, but also needs to win to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Tip-off for that matchup will be on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CST, and will be televised to SEC Network.