It seems like this projection is changing by the minute. CBS Sports Jerry Palm recently updated his top seeds with the Auburn Tigers holding onto a top seed while others see it differently.
The loss by Auburn to Tennessee, coupled with Baylor’s win over Kansas allowed the Bears to leapfrog the Tigers for a No. 1 seed. The No. 1 seed in the East Region would be the Jayhawks in this latest Bracketology update with Auburn getting the No. 2 seed. It would set up a matchup against No. 15 seed Princeton in the first round. They would play the winner of Wake Forest and Colorado State in Greenville.
The Bears picked up another résumé-boosting victory at home vs. Kansas and now have a nation-leading 11 Quadrant 1 victories to pair with a top-5 NET score. Those overall credentials helped coach Scott Drew’s team leapfrog Auburn for a coveted No. 1 seed in the latest bracket projection.
While Gonzaga (lost to Saint Mary’s), Arizona (lost to Colorado) and Kansas all lost on Saturday, the Tigers’ overall credentials were weak enough to drop them a spot to the No. 2 line with their NET score outside of the top 10.
Auburn has just two games left on the schedule. They travel to Starkville on Wednesday to take on Mississippi State before closing out the season against South Carolina on Saturday. There will be a ceremony during Saturday’s game to re-name Auburn Arena as Neville Arena during the game.
Looking ahead to the SEC Tournament, ESPN recently predicted the winner with Kentucky getting three votes and Arkansas getting one vote. Provided that Auburn has a strong showing against potential matchups with Kentucky, Arkansas, and/or Tennessee, the Tigers could regain their No. 1 status.
The team will need to regain the magic from earlier in the season when they won 19-straight games, including the 80-71 victory over the Wildcats. Jabari Smith will need to continue the streak that he has played at recently with 27 or more points in three of the last four games.