Auburn basketball: How the SEC fared in the March Madness Round of 64
Auburn basketball is still standing as an SEC school representing a traditionally football-focused conference after defeating Jacksonville State in their first matchup of March Madness.
They’re not alone, but the ranks have thinned after Round of 64.
While Tennessee handed Longwood a 32-point loss and Arkansas barely outlasted America East power Vermont, AU’s primary rivals fell in losses that ranged in the level of embarrassment the respective fanbases feel right now.
Alabama lost Jahvon Quinerly and was behind the 8-ball against Notre Dame in the West Region of the bracket.
Kentucky on the other hand? Well, for a fanbase that claimed they were the Super Bowl of every single opponent they faced, falling to St. Peters (of the MAAC) from notoriously unfocused sports town Jersey City, New Jersey is just about the most humiliating hubris-destroying loss a ‘blue blood’ can possibly claim.
Auburn basketball has the best betting odds of any remaining SEC team
According to Wynnbet, the Auburn Tigers have +1200 odds to win the NCAA tournament, the best of any remaining SEC school and the fifth-best odds overall.
After them, Tennessee has +1500 odds to be the last team standing. The Volunteers have the eighth best odds. In the middle of the pack for the entire field is Arkansas at +5000 odds.
Auburn’s road to the Final Four figures to go through the likes of Wisconsin, Providence, and/or Kansas. Tennessee shares their side of the bracket with Villanova, Arizona, and Illinois. Arkansas has a matchup with the #1 overall seed in the tournament, Gonzaga, if the Zags can get past Memphis.
Miami is next for Auburn after the Hurricanes knocked off USC in the closing seconds in one of March’s early instant classics. If momentum can be transferred over from the dominant second half of AU’s win over JSU–punctuated by Jabari Smith’s poster dunk in the final month–watch out field.
It won’t be the saints who are coming in New Orleans, it’ll be the Tigers.