The No. 1 ranked team according to KenPom, NET, and an abundance of other metrics, the Auburn Tigers earned another crowning nod heading into 2025. ESPN ‘Bracketologist’ Joe Lunardi, who is widely respected for his accuracy regarding predicting the Field of 68 come March, placed the Tigers as his No. 1 overall seed in his final projection of 2024.
Auburn, who has yet to crack the No. 1 ranking in the AP or Coaches Poll, is widely considered the most complete team in the nation heading into the new year. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are one of five SEC programs ranked among the top 3 seeding lines in Lunardi’s bracket, with Tennessee (1), Alabama (2), Florida (2), and Kentucky (3), all earning spots amid the coveted top portion of the bracket.
Texas A&M (4), Mississippi State (4), Oklahoma (5), and Ole Miss (6) represent the remaining SEC squads among the top half of the seeding line, while Georgia (8), Arkansas (9), Texas (11), and Missouri (12) round out the field-leading 13 conference teams in the field. The chances of the SEC finishing with all 13, or even 10, of those teams in ‘the dance’ are slim however, as the grueling conference schedule is sure to cannibalize some teams on the bubble.
While the vast amount of talent and parity around the SEC will weed out some bubble programs, elite squads like Auburn should have no problem finishing with a high seed once in March. Whatever seed Auburn, or any other program in the projected field, ends up earning remains to be seen. If the Tigers can keep up their dominant play behind ‘National Player of the Year’ leader [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], the Tigers could very well end with virtual home games in Atlanta on the path to the Final Four.
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