While Auburn will always be a football-first school, it has become a passionate college hoops destination. Now, head coach Bruce Pearl’s team was ranked #1 in the country for much of the year. And the best could be yet to come: March Madness. When Bruce Pearl took over as head coach of the Auburn Tigers in 2017, he inherited one of the worst programs with the College Basketball lines. Additionally, he took over a program that was ignored by a fan base obsessed with football. In turn, All eyes are on Auburn basketball this week.
2025 NCAA Tournament First Round Thursday Auburn vs. Saint Francis or Alabama State
| Date and Time: | Thursday, March 20, 2025, 2:50 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY |
| TV Coverage: | CBS |
| Betting Online Odds at SBG: | Click Here |
Auburn Tigers Team Overview
Lately, Auburn has covered two of its previous eight games and has gone over the offshore bookmaker total in five of its last seven outings. First among Auburn scorers is Johni Broome, with 18.9 points per game.
Overall, the Auburn Tigers are 28-5 straight up, 18-13 against the spread, and 20-11 over/under the College basketball lines total. Auburn has national metrics of 5th for scoring offense, 23rd for field goal percentage, 38th for 3-point field goal percentage, 91st for free throw percentage, and 62nd for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Auburn is 120th for scoring defense, 40th for field goal percentage permitted, 11th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 75th for defensive rebounding.
The Auburn Tigers are officially the top seed in the NCAA Tournament. This is the first time in program history that they have achieved this feat. Consider that a slow finish to the season was no issue. Their resume spoke volumes regardless.
Now, Auburn will start exactly where the projections have had them for weeks. They’ll start in the South Region (Atlanta) in Lexington, Ky. And then they will take on the winner of the First Four Matchup between Alabama State and Saint Francis.
According to the NET, Auburn finished as the second-best team in the country, with a 16-5 record against Quad 1 teams. Also, Auburn went undefeated against teams in the other three quads.
Fresh off a disappointing first-round exit to Yale in the NCAA Tournament, Bruce Pearl has put together one of the most experienced lineups in the country. Auburn hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend since the Final Four run in 2019. However, this year’s team should have the best chance to make it back. With a projected first-team All-American back and an experienced point guard transferring in, the Tigers have two big pieces necessary.
Zakai Zeigler scored 20 points, Jordan Gainey had 15, and No. 8 Tennessee held off No. 3 Auburn 70-65 in the first semifinal game of the SEC tournament. Namely, Chaz Lanier added 12 points for the fourth-seeded Volunteers. Meanwhile, Johni Broome had 23 points for the top-seeded Tigers, Miles Kelly contributed 13, and Denver Jones scored 10.
The lead changed hands four times at the outset of the second half before Jones made two free throws. And then Broome added a basket from the lane to give Auburn a 41-36 lead. Gainey then accounted for seven points during a 9-2 spurt to give Tennessee a 45-43 lead.