The Auburn Tigers won the SEC regular season championship after going 15-3 against conference opponents. Th Tigers had the chance to prove they are a team to fear in the NCAA Tournament by winning the entire SEC Tournament. If this season has shown us anything, it's that the SEC is stacked, with plenty of programs that are fully capable of winning the entire NCAA Tournament.
On Saturday, Auburn took on the Tennessee Volunteers, whom they defeated earlier this season 53-51. Well, Tennessee got their revenge, as they defeated Auburn 70-65 to advance to the SEC Tournament finals. This has been a rough stretch for the Tigers, as they have lost three of their last four games, including against Alabama and Texas A&M.
Auburn had felt like locks to clinch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since the regular season ended. But did their stunning loss to Tennessee hurt their chances?
Auburn bracketology update after Tigers lose to Tennessee in SEC Tournament semifinals
While it does sting for Auburn fans that they won't carry bragging rights into the NCAA Tournament, their chances of clinching a No. 1 seed are actually unaffected.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi provided a bracketology update on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, and revealed that Auburn has locked up the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament regardless of the end result of their SEC semifinals matchup against Tennessee and other results across the nation. So, there's no reason to worry, Auburn fans.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 15, 2025
Auburn should be joined by either Florida or Alabama as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, depending on their SEC Tournament semifinals matchup on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers will look to put this loss behind them and win the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. The closest they ever got was in 2019 when they made the Final Four, but lost to Virginia, who went on to win the national championship.
But even with the loss to Tennessee, Auburn should be a lock as a No. 1 seed.