The Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team is in unfamiliar territory, one win away from securing a winning record for the season. If the young squad can finish down the stretch in SEC play, it would be the first time since 2008-09 that they have done so. And ironically enough, the 2008-09 season was the last time the Tigers reached any sort of postseason play.
For a program that has always been overshadowed by football, it has been a struggle. The Auburn basketball program is in the middle of an eight-year postseason drought. The Tigers have not appeared in the NIT since the 2008-09 season when Jeff Lebo was at the helm, and more importantly have not qualified for the big dance since the 2002-03 season when Marquis Daniels was leading the Tigers.
However, basketball on the Plains has a bright future ahead. In his third year as head coach at Auburn, Bruce Pearl has the Tigers contending for postseason basketball. Pearl has built a solid foundation for success. He has energized recruiting by signing five-star phenoms like Mustapha Heron and Austin Wiley who have both been integral pieces in the Tigers success so far. Heron leads the team in scoring averaging just over 15 points a game. Wiley has been a force inside, contributing 10 points and 5 rebounds a game since graduating from high school early to come play for Pearl. This team is young, but full of talent. Pearl has brought excitement back to the basketball program, selling out season tickets year after year. And above all, this season more than his first two, he is starting to win.
It has been a roller coaster season so far for the Tigers, a season that includes five true road wins as well as three SEC home losses. Just last week, the young squad dismantled TCU on the road, a tournament team right now according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, for arguably the biggest win of the season. Following the TCU upset, the Tigers suffered a disappointing ten-point loss at home to Tennessee, which was then succeeded by a huge road win at Alabama on Saturday, sweeping the series against the in-state rival for the first time since 2009. With the Mississippi State win, Auburn now sits at 16-8 overall. The last time the Tigers started a season 16-8 or better was 2002-03, the last time the they made the NCAA tournament.
Auburn has won two straight and is back on the bubble. Not only are the Tigers beginning to get key wins, players are starting to heat up and the team is starting to play together as a cohesive unit. Bryce Brown has been shooting lights out the past few games, while the resurgence of Danjel Purifoy, who had not looked like himself after an injury in January, has given the team a much needed boost. But, consistency is the key.
It seems like every time the Tigers gets on the postseason bubble it falls right back off. The story of the season has been inconsistency, but wins at Alabama and at home against Mississippi State have Auburn back in the postseason conversation again. Nonetheless, they’ll need to keep winning if they want to keep their postseason hopes alive moving forward. The Tigers travel to Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday for a crucial matchup with the Rebels, and then return home to host the nationally ranked Florida Gators, which could end up being the biggest game of the year.
If Auburn picks up a few more key victories, the Tigers could put the selection committee in a tough spot come March. History shows that SEC teams get more credit from the committee than most would think. Vanderbilt snuck in the NCAA tournament last year as an 11 seed with an overall record of 19-14 despite sitting on the outside of the bubble conversation for most of the season. If the Tigers can avoid inconsistency, and close the season out strong, anything can happen.
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