South Alabama Head Coach Previews NIT Clash with Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers will host the South Alabama Jaguars in Auburn’s first game of the NIT, in which head coach Steven Pearl’s squad is a region host and No. 1 seed. South Alabama head coach Richie Riley spoke to the media on Sunday and seemed to have great respect for the Tigers

“First off we’re very appreciative for an invitation and excited to play,” Riley said. “And then when you put it into perspective that you’re going to Auburn, who I think has a tremendous team – I mean, they beat St. John’s this year. They went to Florida and beat them. They beat Arkansas pretty handily. They have a really good team.”

Unfortunately for Auburn, those wins did not translate into an NCAA Tournament bid, as the Tigers’ 16 losses proved to be too much to overcome. As the Auburn faithful watched the screens on Selection Sunday, they were left facing the reality that their team had been snubbed.

More ball to be played 🏀 pic.twitter.com/tsQsebnLIj
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 17, 2026

This South Alabama team knows the feeling, as the Jaguars had their NIT bid rescinded in 2025 in an affair that Riley called “unacceptable.” UC Riverside had been offered an NIT invite, as well as an invite to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), which was not affiliated with the NCAA.

Thinking UC Riverside was competing in the CBI, the NCAA extended an NIT invite to South Alabama. However, Riverside then declined its CBI invite, choosing to participate in the NIT. The decision caused the NCAA to have to revoke South Alabama’s NIT invite after coach Riley had already informed his team they would be participating. That rug pull left the Jaguars devastated and especially appreciative of the opportunity this season.

“For our guys to get to experience that environment, which is one of the best in college basketball, period, is going to be a really cool thing that our guys earned this year,” Riley said. “We’re really, really excited about it.”

The Jaguars enter tonight’s contest at 21-11 following a loss to a red-hot Georgia Southern squad in the fourth round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Coach Riley’s team split its season series with Troy, which was easily the best team in the Sun Belt this season.

Auburn will have to watch out for guard Chaze Harris and forward Adam Olsen, who average 18.9 and 16.7 points, respectively. Harris and Olsen also lead the Jaguars in minutes and have been key contributors for the majority of the season.

Pearl did emphasize that his team wanted to keep competing and would be ready for the NIT matchup despite other programs around the country, such as Seton Hall, Florida State and Indiana, declining non-NCAA postseason bids.

“The guys on my roster are here to play basketball and compete,” Pearl said. “I’m not going to take my ball and go home because we didn’t make the Tournament… I see it as an unbelievable opportunity for our guys to go out there and compete on a stage.”

However, Auburn fans have seen meltdowns from this team this season, and will not be entering the game with an extremely high confidence level.