A year ago, Auburn fans across the country saw our season come to an end in a disappointing overtime loss against Missouri. With a 7-11 conference record, Auburn saw another losing SEC season under Bruce Pearl.
I think, at that moment, many of us wondered if 2018 was worth waiting for. We wondered if a winning conference record was anywhere near our future. With that, I think people just lost interest or the joy in coming to Auburn Arena.
The SEC was becoming a strong conference in the world of college basketball, and I think even Auburn fans were asking themselves if we could keep up.
The season started with spotlights on teams like Alabama, Florida and Kentucky. These teams were projected to beat out any competition. They were supposed to have the “X factor” players that teams like Auburn lacked. Engulfed by the media, Auburn fans were worried about another losing year.
On Jan. 2, 2018, all of that changed.
Many fans casually turned on the TV to see the first conference game of the season against Tennessee. Analysts from news networks were projecting, once again, another negative SEC season for the Tigers.
In bold, big font, 4-14 was beside Auburn’s name, which was one of the last on the list. The projecting numbers were demoralizing and devastating for the ego of fans, and I can’t imagine how much it lingered in the back of our players’ minds.
Our players were introduced with boos from the Volunteer crowd. They made their way to center court and prepared for tip-off. I saw our players standing tall and proudly wearing the navy jersey with the one word in burnt orange that bound them together: Auburn.
I saw head coach Bruce Pearl in his blue suit with his signature smile as he got ready to face his old team. The world saw a sub-par basketball squad. I saw a 12-1 team with a chip on their shoulder.
The tip-off whistle blew to not only start that game but also to commence our historic season.
At the start of the game, viewers might not have recognized names such as Harper, Heron or Brown. By the end of that night, everyone knew who our guys were. If you didn’t, you were going to eventually.
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Every game after that was incredible. Did we lose a few? Yes. However, we won so much more.
We were beating great teams by double digits, home and away. There were lines reaching from the entrance to the dorms, three hours before tip-off. ESPN was coming to broadcast our games. They weren’t here for Kentucky or Georgia. They were there to showcase Auburn basketball.
We had the entire college basketball world asking questions about our success. There really was no secret. We were just playing our game.
If you weren’t an Auburn fan, there is no way you could understand the energy that was around campus these past few months. Everyone was talking about basketball, even those who had no interest at all before.
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Through the tough journey, doubt never stopped. Key players went down on injury. Players were not recognized for their exceptional performances. Coaches were overlooked. However, in the end, we were the ones cutting down the nets in Auburn Arena as regular season champions. We were headed to the big dance for the first time in 15 years.
Being honest, March didn’t go as we envisioned it. The SEC tournament was shortened by Alabama, and in a loss to Clemson, we exited the NCAA tournament in the Round of 32.
However, I think Auburn fans should not miss the bigger picture. We shouldn’t wonder why we didn’t go further or perform better. We should remember: we weren’t even supposed to be here.
We were supposed to be at home, sulking over our negative record, watching everyone else play. Instead, our team was in San Diego with some of the most talented athletes in the country. Auburn fans should look back and smile. We should appreciate what this season truly was, and what it has really meant.
Every second of waiting in line and every voice lost were worth it. Every swag surf and every dance move brought us closer. Every win and every loss shaped our team into better players.
Every moment represented Auburn.
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To Auburn basketball, whether that is the players, the coaches, the staff or the fans, thank you. Not too many Auburn students in our long and rich history have experienced what we have this year. I, along with all of you, was part of history, an unforgettable time that will be remembered for the rest of our lives.
Pearl’s squad has put Auburn back on the map of college basketball, and The Jungle has made Auburn Arena one of its best atmospheres. We, as a group, have diminished all doubts, even those that were ours.
It’s sad to see the season end. There are no more games to be played. There are no more corner threes by Bryce Brown or blocks by Anfernee McLemore. There are no more screams from Pearl on the sidelines or Horace Spencer dunking on Malik Dunbar — for now.
Although senior Patrick Keim’s leadership will be missed, our squad is still here, intact. The very players who did the unthinkable are sure to come back hungrier, stronger. The countdown for next season starts today.
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Auburn basketball finished the season 26-8. We were 13-5 in SEC conference play and 15-1 at home. We were SEC regular season champions and the fourth seed in the NCAA tournament.
We earned our spot as a top team in one of the best conferences in the country. However, this season brought something to Auburn that far outweighs numbers.
We reignited the fire in our excitement for basketball. We established a basketball culture for the future, a standard for what it truly means to be an Auburn Tiger.
Our season might be over, but our story is just beginning.
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