With its first postseason appearance since 2009 within reach, Bruce Pearl and his Auburn team will travel to Nashville this week for the 2017 SEC Tournament.
11th-seeded Auburn enters the tournament 18-13 overall and 7-11 in the SEC. The Tigers will take on No. 14 seed Missouri (7-23, 2-16) for the second time in five days Wednesday night. Auburn defeated Missouri twice in the regular season.
“We’re excited about going up to Nashville and playing what’s going to be a very competitive SEC Tournament,” Pearl said. “I think the league has demonstrated how competitive it is, especially in the middle of the league.”
The SEC could have up to five teams in the NCAA Tournament and up to six teams in the NIT. Pearl is hoping his team can secure a NIT bid with a tournament run in Nashville.
“I think it would take a couple (of wins), and so that’s a number that gives me a little bit of flexibility. But that’s what I think it would take (to get into the NIT),” Pearl said.
Last season, Alabama earned a five seed in the NIT after a 17-13 regular season record. The Crimson Tide won one game in Nashville, which secured its spot in the NIT.
Auburn is no stranger to a tournament run in Nashville. Just two years ago in Pearl’s first season at Auburn, the Tigers rode K.T. Harrell’s back to three wins in three days and a semifinal berth in the 2015 SEC Tournament. The Tigers are looking to create some similar magic inside Bridgestone Arena this season.
“We’re going to take it one day at a time, one step at a time and we’ve got to focus all of our attention on Missouri,” Pearl said. “It’s hard to beat a good team three times. We played very well at home on Senior Night with a lot of emotion and it was just a 10-point win, so, obviously, Missouri has got a lot to play for.”
Tip-off between Auburn and Missouri is scheduled for approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The game will begin shortly after the conclusion of the LSU-Mississippi State game. The winner will play the 6th-seeded Ole Miss Rebels Thursday night. The first four rounds of the SEC Tournament can be seen on the SEC Network.
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