The Auburn Tigers made history on Sunday night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, defeating Tulsa 92-86 to win their first-ever NIT championship.
Auburn is one of two Division-I teams to cut down nets in Indianapolis this weekend — the other, of course, being the NCAA National Champion at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday night.
Tahaad Pettiford (0) cuts hoop after winning the NIT championship game against Tulsa in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind on April 5, 2026.
It was a thrilling end to the 2025-26 season, as Auburn survived a massive scare late in the second half in what Steven Pearl termed as a “microcosm” of the season. The Tigers once led by as many as 21 points, but an extended 32-8 run across 10 minutes resulted in a five-point Tulsa lead with just a few minutes remaining.
Auburn trailed by four with just eight seconds left in regulation, but a free throw by Elyjah Freeman, a forced five-second violation on the inbound and the miraculous 3-pointer by Kevin Overton from the corner sent it to overtime.
The Tigers outscored the Golden Hurricane 14-8 in the extra period, leading to Pearl and company hoisting their first hardware of the new era.
Let’s dive into multiple statistics and trends that ultimately decided the outcome of Sunday night’s title game.
Individual
Overton led all players in scoring against Tulsa with 26 points on 5-for-8 from downtown and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, earning him NIT Most Outstanding Player honors. He certainly proved to be Auburn’s most productive contributor in the postseason, as Sunday night marked his third NIT game with 20 points or more.
Tulsa sharpshooter Miles Barnstable led the Golden Hurricane in 3-point shooting with over 100 made threes on the season, but Auburn held him to just 1-for-5 from behind the arc. Barnstable’s first triple came nearly 30 minutes into the contest, as the Tigers’ perimeter defense essentially eliminated his impact.
With 24 points vs. Tulsa, including 15 in the first half, Tahaad Pettiford finished the season with 585 points, which are the 15th-most in a single season by any Auburn player.
Team
Tulsa is one of the country’s best 3-point shooting teams, as it entered the game ranked No. 12 nationally in 3-point percentage (38.3) and No. 19 in triples made per game (10.1). However, Auburn did an impressive job running their best shooters off the 3-point line, as the Golden Hurricane went just 6-for-26 (23.1%) from deep.
Auburn won the overall battle on the glass 39-34, but the five-rebound differential was solely due to the Tigers’ five offensive boards. The two squads were even 29-29 on the defensive glass, but Auburn held a 13-8 advantage on the offensive end. Elyjah Freeman notched 14 total rebounds, including four offensive, and Auburn posted 18 second-chance points.
Miscellaneous
Auburn is the fourth team in the SEC to ever win the NIT title.
The Tigers finished 22-16 overall, and their 22 wins are tied for the 10th-most in program history. Auburn played 38 total games, which are tied for the second-most in program history with last year’s Final Four team. The only squad that has played more games was the 2018-19 Final Four team with 40.
After Auburn scored 92 points in the win on Sunday, Auburn finished the season with 3,154 points, the second-most in school history.
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Gunner is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
