Auburn Basketball Faces Mississippi State in SEC Tournament

0:00On March 8th, Auburn basketball wrapped up the regular season with a tough road lost to Alabama, falling 96-84. The Tigers struggled on the boards, getting out rebounded badly as the Crimson Tide grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to Auburn's 9th. That kept Alabama in control with extra possessions all game. Defensively, Auburn left too many shooters open, letting Alabama's LeBarran Philan Jr. and Aiden Holloway each dropped 21 points. The good news was, Alabama shot just 26% from beyond the arc, so threes did not sink the Tigers this time. This defeat puts extra pressure on Auburn heading into the SEC tournament where they were hoping for a resume boost to lock in an NCAA spot. Experts called this a must win against the 16th ranked Tide, but now the Tigers sit on the bubble. In the latest Kenpom rankings, Auburn climbed to number 39 overall, with strong offense at number 12, but defense lagging at number 1. 122, they faced the nation's second toughest schedule,

1:03which helps their case. Up next, Auburn faces Mississippi State in the first round, a team that beat them at home earlier. Kenpom has the bulldogs at number 100 overall, and projects the Tigers as 76% favorites in an 85-77 win.