NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The top seeded Tigers fell to the No. 4 seed Volunteers 70-65 late in the SEC Tournament semifinals inside of Bridgestone Arena – Auburn’s third loss in the last four games.
The loss to Tennessee marks the first time since 2015 the Tigers have won a game in the SEC Tournament and not gone on to win the event.
"I believe that this team has from start to finish done enough to be the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament," said head coach Bruce Pearl. "Our résumé is historically one of the strongest résumés in the history of college basketball with the number of quad one wins we've had."
As the Volunteers await the winner No. 3 seed Alabama and No. 2 seed Florida, Auburn prepares for Selection Sunday where it will almost assuredly receive a No. 1 seed and likely the top overall seed in the big dance.
Auburn guard Miles Kelly attempts a 3-pointer against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinal in Nashville, TN on March 15, 2025.
The Tigers recorded a 28-5 record and 15-3 regular season conference record, good enough to be crowned the SEC’s regular season champions. Playing the program’s toughest non-conference schedule to date and running through a historic SEC, Auburn racked up 16 quad-one wins – which leads the nation.
“Yeah, I feel like our quad-one resume kinda beats everybody else but I mean we’re leaving up to whoever makes the bracket. We’re just gonna go into it continuing to try to get better, continuing to try to win games and get to the national championship," said power forward Chaney Johnson after the loss Saturday.
Pearl’s squad sits at the No. 2 spot nationally in the NCAA’s NET metric system and ranks at No. 2 overall in the KenPom ratings.
In a season where the Tigers had been ranked No. 1 for eight straight weeks, Auburn matched program records with the 2021-22 squad with 15 SEC wins & 27 regular-season wins.
Pearl and his squad will find out where they are headed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on the Selection Show on Sunday, March 16 at 5 p.m. CST airing on CBS.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
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