Auburn, Alabama, UAB, Samford head west; Tigers women get invite

NASHVILLE – The postgame glow of winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament with a resounding 86-67 victory over Florida still shrouded the Auburn men’s basketball team when the NCAA Tournament committee threw water on the celebration.

All talk regarding how NET Rankings and KenPom ratings are all important came up empty. Auburn is ranked the highest among SEC teams at No. 5 in the country by the former and No. 4 by the latter, and could do no better than a fourth seed and getting sent to the far reaches of the West Coast to open play in the Big Dance.

Auburn will have traveling companies going the roughly 2,400 miles across the country to Spokane, Wash., for a first round game Friday against No. 14 Yale at 3:15 p.m. Alabama and UAB also will begin the tournament in Spokane. Auburn would play top overall seed UConn in the Sweet 16 if both teams advanced that far. Placing Auburn opposite the Huskies presumably means the NCAA considered the Tigers the No. 16 team in the tournament.

“The SEC Tournament doesn’t mean a damn thing if you can win the SEC Championship and be a 4-seed. It’s a joke,” Tigers assistant coach Steven Pearl said on The Next Round Podcast following the bracket unveiling.

In Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide received word they also were awarded a 4-seed and will play No. 13 College of Charleston at 6:35 p.m. Friday in Spokane. The No. 12 Blazers will take on No. 5 San Diego State at 1:45 p.m. Friday.

Samford won the Southern Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid. The 13th-seeded Bulldogs (29-5) will play No. 4 seed Kansas (22-10) in the Midwest Regional first round in Salt Lake City. The winner players either Gonzaga or McNeese State.

The Auburn-Yale winner will play the UAB-San Diego State winner. The Alabama-College of Charleston winner will face the No. 5 Saint Mary’s-No. 12 Grand Canyon winner in the second round of the West Regional.

Meanwhile, Auburn’s  women anxiously wanted the selection show simply hoping for an invite and got one to the First Four play-in round. The Tigers play Arizona, both No. 11 seeds, at 6 p.m. Thursday in Storrs, Conn. The winner plays No. 6 Syracuse.

Sunday during a post-selection zoom conference, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats liked his team’s next opponent to his own.

“Pretty similar to us, to be honest with you,” Oats said. “I mean, their offense is top 60 in the country. Their pace of play is top 50. Their 3-point rate is top 20. They’re playing fast, spreading it out, taking a lot of threes. We’re gonna have to see exactly how they get it, but I’m about to see. My staff’s already working on Charleston.”

No. 4 Alabama (21-11) -9 points vs. No. 13 College of Charleston (27-7)

• First round, Friday, 1:45 p.m., Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
• Charleston won the Coastal Athletic Association tournament and earned a bid with its 12th straight win
• Winner plays No. 5 Saint Mary’s-No. 12 Grand Canyon winner Sunday in the second round
• Alabama received a double bye for the SEC Tournament but lost its first game to Florida, its fourth loss in six games 
• Coach Nate Oats: “We’re treating it like it’s a whole new season and we’re playing a really good team,” Oats said. “I’ve been on the other side of this. I’ve been a 13-seed playing a four at Buffalo and came in and beat Arizona, so I’ve got a pretty good idea of the mindset of that group. And they’re hungry. I’m sure they can’t wait to play us. They’re excited.”
• The Crimson Tide is 4-3 under Oats in the NCAA Tournament
• Alabama is making its fourth straight March Madness appearance in five years under Oats
• The Crimson Tide advanced to the Sweet 16 twice in 2021 and 2023
• Alabama is 25-24 all-time in the Big Dance dating to 1975 

No. 4 Auburn (27-7) -12.5 points vs. No. 13 Yale (22-9)

• First round, Friday, 3:15 p.m., TNT, Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
• The winner plays No. 12 UAB-No. 5 San Diego State () in the second round Sunday
• Auburn defeated Auburn beat South Carolina (86-55), Mississippi State (73-66) and Florida (86-67) to win the SEC Tournament
• Three teams in the East Regional were Final Four participants last year: UConn, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic
• Coach Bruce Pearl: “Are we paying the price for getting Birmingham (for site of AUburn’s first- and second-round games last year) and having an incredible opportunity against Houston (with a partisan crowd) last year? Perhaps … This is the third time they’ve shipped us off a long way from our fans,” Pearl said shortly after the tournament bracket was revealed, as reported by Justin Ferguson of The Auburn Observer. 
• This will be the second all-time meeting between Auburn and Yale. The Tigers prevailed with an 86-64 victory over the Bulldogs on Dec. 4, 2021 at Neville Arena.
• The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament on a buzzer beater versus Brown in the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament. 
• This is Yale’s third March Madness appearance in the last four seasons under head coach James Jones
• The Tigers, making their third straight tournament, are 7-4 under Pearl and 19-12 overall n the NCAA Tournament dating to 1984

WOMEN

No. 11 Auburn (20-11) vs. No. 11 Arizona (17-15)

• First Four play-in game, Wednesday, 6 p.m., Storrs (Conn.), ESPN2
• Winner plays No. 6 Syracuse
• Should Auburn advance to the Sweet 16, it will play in Portland, Oregon.
• Auburn is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years and first under coach Johnnie Harris
• Coach Johnnie Harris: “We’re excited to be in,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “We’ll start preparing to play that play-in game, and that’s just another opportunity to play. It’s never been easy for us, so we don’t expect that, but I expect our team to come out ready to play.”