For the 13th time in the series history, the Auburn Tigers will face off with an in-state foe, Jacksonville State in the round of 64.
War Eagle will be heavily favored in the No. 2/No. 15 matchup in the opening round. The team has to hope they are playing more at the early season level than what we have seen in the last nine games. In that stretch, Auburn is 5-4 with disappointing losses to Florida and Texas A&M.
However, we are wiping the slate clean for this game. How the team got here is irrelevant, they have to go on a run over the next six games to secure the title. Fortunately enough, Bruce Pearl has two of the 15 players in the NCAA Tournament on his team.
Jabari Smith ranks as the No. 5 overall player in the tournament.
Well over 40% of Smith’s shot attempts are of the 2-point jumper variety, and he’s connecting on 38% of those tries. While that’s a pretty good hit rate at his volume in that category, it does bring his 2-point shooting overall down to 44%. Pay no mind. The NBA will clean that up soon enough, and we’re speaking of a prolific scorer who’s also shooting 43% from beyond the arc as a 6-10 18-year-old. Believe the hype. Better yet, add 10 or 20% more.
The team also has the No. 14 overall player in Walker Kessler. The rim protector is going to be key in advancing throughout the tournament as Auburn looks for a return to the Final Four.
In addition to posting the nation’s highest block percentage, Kessler alters shots he doesn’t swat away and prevents tries he doesn’t get to see attempted. Most of all, the sophomore does all of the above while staying on the floor. Kessler’s averaging 26 minutes per contest and has fouled out once since the beginning of February. He’s also capable of truly amazing all-around games. His 12 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocks against Texas A&M during the regular season marked his second triple-double of the year.
College basketball analyst Jay Bilas (subscription required)recently predicted all 32 matchups for the opening round of March Madness.
Next, we look at how Bilas predicts the opening round matchup