Auburn basketball viewed unfavorably in CBS Sports’ full 68-team March Madness rankings

Auburn basketball made the final field of 68 for the 2023 March Madness tournament, but they were put into a slot that has never had a champion in the history of the tournament (No. 9) and is not viewed favorably by the media right now.

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander ranked the Tigers in the bottom third of his rankings for all 68 2023 NCAA tournament teams, behind mid-majors like the College of Charleston and Oral Roberts at No. 46 overall.

Norlander said a Sweet 16 would be a surprise for Auburn basketball — that’d require victories over Iowa and Houston in the city of Birmingham — but also revealed a stat that could indicate that the Tigers will fare well this March:

"“A year ago, Auburn was on the No. 2 line and was viewed as a near-lock as a Sweet 16 team before it got upset in the second round by Miami. This year, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers would be a surprise Sweet 16 squad, but we’ll see. Pearl’s team is about as unpredictable as it gets among this year’s Big Dance participants. That can work for and against them, but at least they’ve got high-end 3-point defense (28.8%).”"

Can Auburn basketball be 2023 March Madness Cinderella?

As the country fills out its brackets, the 2019 Final Four run from Bruce Pearl’s and the Plains’ most legendary team may stick to the backs of the minds of many. Can Auburn be 2023 March Madness’ Cinderella team?

That all comes down to the scoring performances of five Tigers in particular: Johni Broome, Wendell Green Jr., Jaylin Williams, Allen Flanigan, and K.D. Johnson. Those are the only five scorers averaging over four points per game, and the only players that averaged more than 20 points per game during the 2022-23 season. While a true Cinderella will get contributions from all over the court, those five must carry the load.

The funny thing about Cinderella and Auburn being spoken in the same breath is that Pearl’s team came into the season as a team that wouldn’t have gotten that label from a deep March run. Now, with the deck stacked against them as the lower ranked team in every matchup moving forward — barring something spectacularly unforeseen, of course — AU has its backs against the wall fighting for survival.

Few schools embrace that underdog mantra quite like the Tigers, though.