Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl treated his team like they were the “underdogs” before their Elite Eight game against Michigan State, even though the Tigers were the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Still, this “underdog” mindset might carry over into this weekend’s Final Four. Before this weekend’s games in San Antonio, Texas, USA TODAY Sports writer Eddie Timanus shared his new ranking of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament. Even though Auburn was the top overall seed, Timanus placed them at No. 4 in his re-ranking. Duke holds the No. 1 position, with Auburn’s next opponent, Florida, coming in at No. 2. Houston is ranked No. 3, and the Tigers finish the list at No. 4.
Although it’s disappointing that Auburn dropped to No. 4, Timanus highlights several important reasons for placing the team at the bottom of the list.
“It may seem strange to see a team that was ranked first for much of the season in the coaches poll end up last here. However, there are a few reasons for this. First, the Tigers did not win their league tournament, unlike the other three teams. While winning the tournament isn’t always a clear sign of success in March and April, Auburn was clearly playing their best basketball earlier in the season. Additionally, Auburn has faced all the other Final Four teams and only managed to win against one. Although star player Johni Broome is okay after a scare from an injury during the game against Michigan State, and the Tigers have shown they can handle quick turnarounds, like they did in Maui last November, they need to regain their teamwork to win the program’s first championship.”
Auburn’s status as the top seed for the NCAA Tournament faced a lot of criticism because the Tigers lost three out of their last four games after clinching the SEC regular season title with a win at Kentucky on March 1. During this tough stretch, Auburn dropped in the polls and even in the KenPom rankings, but they still earned some trust due to having the best overall record in the nation with 16 quad-1 wins.
Auburn seems to be getting back on track since they have won three out of four NCAA Tournament games by more than 10 points. Three of those victories were against “quad-1” teams. This weekend at the Final Four, Auburn will have one or maybe two more chances to show that they are the same strong team from the regular season. Their initial opportunity takes place on Saturday at 5:09 p.m. CT, as Auburn goes up against the Florida Gators.
