Analysts reach consensus: Auburn basketball got screwed with March Madness No. 4 seed
Despite winning the SEC Tournament Championship in a three-game run that saw the Tigers win by less than double digits just once (against Mississippi State), Bruce Pearl's Auburn basketball program was screwed by the committee with the No. 15 overall seed in the tournament and the No. 4 seed in the East region.
At least that's how many pundits saw it on Selection Sunday.
"Auburn finishes fourth in the nation in the Ken Pomeroy rankings, wins the SEC tourney and gets a four seed against the number one overall one seed, UConn? That’s impossible to justify, Bruce Pearl and Tigers got screwed with this seeding," OutKick's Clay Travis wrote.
"Let's just say it: Auburn got screwed by the committee," Rivals' Brian Stultz prefaced before saying, "Finished tied for second in SEC regular season, won the tournament and was top five in NET. But sure, put them in the East Region with the top overall seed UConn. Bruce Pearl has to be furious."
ESPN's Marty Smith shared the same sentiment, but added some extra flavor.
"Auburn got hosed six ways to Sunday," he wrote.
Auburn basketball SEC Championship win the perfect momentum-builder before March Madness
Besides giving many fans the most unforgettable AU sports moment of their lives, the Tigers did themselves a lot of good in Nashville by running the table and raising their third SEC Tournament banner in school history.
It goes without saying: Auburn just gained a ton of momentum heading into the tournament. That's right up there with water being wet when it comes to obvious facts.
Johni Broome's NBA draft stock raised exponentially by being named to the All-SEC Tournament Team, Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara gained confidence in their shots after hitting several big ones throughout the weekend, and guys like Dylan Cardwell and KD Johnson overcame pitfalls to contribute to a full-team tournament win.
The SEC Tournament couldn't have gone better for AU, even if Selection Sunday could've.