How Did Auburn's Win Over Kentucky Change Its NCAA Tournament Seeding?

The Auburn Tigers are coming off one of their most important wins of the season, and they face a sneaky tough opponent on Tuesday.

Auburn knocked off the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in Neville Arena, defeating Mark Pope’s squad, 75-74, to claim its sixth SEC victory in a must-win game for the Tigers.

The win snapped a five-game losing streak, which was the first time Auburn had dropped five consecutive games, and the Tigers would’ve found themselves firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament if they had lost.

However, Auburn found a way to win, and the victory is positively reflected in multiple updated bracketology projections.

Let’s take a look at a couple of March Madness seeing predictions, and where Auburn landed compared to pre-Kentucky.

ESPN: Last Four Byes

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has the Tigers as one of the Last Four Byes, meaning they remain somewhat on the bubble, but are still safer than those in the Last Four In. Auburn is joined by Indiana, UCF, and UCLA as the other teams in the Last Four Byes, with his Last Four In including Missouri, Santa Clara, TCU, and New Mexico.

Before the Kentucky win, Lunardi projected Auburn as a No. 10 seed, which is virtually the same as the Last Four Byes, meaning his evaluation of the Tigers on Saturday didn’t exactly shift his opinion on Steven Pearl and company.

CBS Sports: No. 9 Seed

Auburn was listed as one of the first four teams out of the field of 68 last week, but CBS Sports’ updated bracketology metrics project the Tigers to finish as a No. 9 seed in the East Region.

CBS Sports predicts Auburn to face No. 9 Iowa in the round of 64, followed by a potential matchup with Duke, the presumed overall No. 1 seed. And in this scenario, if Auburn somehow defeats the Blue Devils and makes it to the second weekend, a third Iron Bowl of Basketball matchup in the Sweet 16 could be on the docket, as Alabama is featured as the region’s No. 4 seed.

March Madness/Andy Katz: No. 9 Seed

College basketball analyst Andy Katz released his most recent projection on Tuesday, and Auburn landed as a No. 9 seed, with a matchup against No. 8 SMU in the opening round. The Tigers were paired with No. 1 UConn and No. 16 Bethune-Cookman/Howard in the immediate bracket.

USA Today: No. 10 Seed

Similar to ESPN’s projection, the Tigers didn’t do enough to move them up a seed line in USA Today’s bracketology. Auburn would face No. 7 Utah State in the bottom of the South Region, and the winner would play either No. 2 UConn or No. 15 Navy. Houston is the No. 1 seed in the region, and the Tigers could see No. 6 Arkansas later in the tournament if both teams advance past the first weekend.