Auburn basketball needed a big win on Wednesday in order to pad their resume, and solidify a place in the NCAA Tournament, and was two-and-a-half minutes away from doing so.
Auburn led for 36:53 of game time on Wednesday at Alabama before Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly connected to two free throws with 1:37 remaining to break a 73-73 tie. Auburn’s [autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag] made a layup with 0:55 remaining to tie the game again and force overtime.
In the extra stanza, Alabama outscored Auburn, 15-10, to earn the 90-85 win.
“We needed that (win) to get into the NCAA (Tournament), and we didn’t get it,” Auburn head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] said in an emotional postgame interview with Andy Burcham of the Auburn Sports Network.
How will the NCAA Tournament committee see Auburn’s close loss on the road to Alabama? It is too early to tell. But the Tigers have one more shot to earn a trip to the big dance when they welcome No. 14 Tennessee to Neville Arena on Saturday afternoon.
As Auburn continues to claw towards a tournament berth, here’s a look at where Auburn stands in the major categories that are recognized by KenPom following the tough loss to Alabama on Wednesday.