Bruce Pearl make honest admission on Auburn basketball securing the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament
In some respects, Auburn Basketball is still No. 1, after securing the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
Despite the Tigers early exit in the SEC tournament, Bruce Pearl vouched for his group to be rewarded the highest seed.
Now clinching the top spot, Pearl told members of the media the Tigers are now six wins away from the programs first national championship.
Auburn is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/96CQRrKTEh
— Auburn Tigers | AL.com (@aldotcomTigers) March 16, 2025
“We’re very pleased to have been recognized as this year’s No. 1 overall seed. We sort of feel like that makes us the regular-season national champion,” Pearl said Sunday evening. “These are the highest goals I’ve ever had heading into the NCAA tournament.”
“It allows us to be able to say that our goal is to win the national championship. It allows us to say that, if we don’t win the national championship, we’ll be disappointed, as a No. 1 seed.”
The Tigers first and second round games will take place in at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
Auburn will be in the South Region, matching up against Alabama State or St. Francis (PA) in its first-round game Thursday. In the second round, the Tigers will possibly face the winner of Louisville and Creighton.
Pearl acknowledged the chances of playing Louisville in their home state.
“We’ve got to play great teams no matter where we have to play them,” Pearl said. “Auburn travels. We’re going to have a lot of people in Lexington.”
Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. However, Pearl is focused on getting past the first weekend.
Yale beat Auburn in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament as a 13-seed. This year, the Tigers coaching staff have a plan in place to avoid that type of upset again.
“I’ve got to be able to focus on this weekend. All the brackets are loaded with teams that can win it. Let’s set our sights on these four potential opponents,” Pearl said.
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