Auburn 2019 SEC Tournament Preview

The Auburn Tigers (22-9, SEC 11-7) return to action to kick off postseason play today in the SEC Tournament at 2:30 p.m. cst on the SEC Network at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Bruce Pearl’s squad will play the Missouri Tigers (15-16, SEC 5-13), who finished 12th in the SEC. This game opens up tournament play for an Auburn team that finished tied for fourth in the SEC with an 11-7 conference record and received a 1st round bye.

Mizzou beat Georgia, 71-61 in the 1st round, mirroring their victory just a week ago over the Bulldogs. Cuonzo Martin’s team will look to upset the apple cart with a win over an Auburn team that Vegas tabs as a 9-point favorite and is significantly more talented than Mizzou.

“Unfinished Business” has been the hashtag and motto for Auburn all season, and they will finally get a chance to finish business in Nashville.

Last season, Auburn was the 1 seed in the SEC tournament after tying Tennessee for the regular season title. They met a hungry Alabama team in the tournament, who took down the Tigers, 81-63.

This was a demoralizing loss for Auburn and they never really recovered. The Tigers then proceeded to get blown out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Clemson after advancing in the 1st round over College of Charleston. However, Auburn is playing some of its best basketball here at the end of the season and is looking to prove all doubters wrong.

Bruce Pearl’s Tigers come in riding a 4-game winning streak and are coming off the high of defeating a Top 5 Tennessee squad in Auburn Arena on Senior Day.

The key for Auburn is to get their perimeter game going and running the floor. That is going to be a point of emphasis again for the Tigers as they take on a Missouri team that will likely try to slow the game down.

Back on January 30, Auburn blew out Mizzou 92-58, but the score was actually 34-31 Auburn at the half. Auburn eventually got out in transition, forced 20 turnovers, and got hot from the 3-point line. These are the things that this team routinely does inside the friendly confines of Auburn Arena.

Fans, coaches, and players alike hope that Auburn’s road and neutral site struggles end in Nashville. The Tigers have won at Georgia and at Alabama in the last few weeks, so that does allow for some optimism. It is time for Bryce Brown and Jared Harper to put the team on their back. This is their last chance to lead their squad to a championship together.

If Auburn is able to get past Missouri, they will be matched up with South Carolina. Frank Martin’s team beat Auburn by 3 earlier in the year in Columbia. The Tigers led at the half by 1, but foul trouble and defense were the detriments for Auburn. The Gamecocks always plays better at home, as 7 of their 11 conference wins were at Columbia inside Colonial Life Arena.

Auburn and Carolina had the same SEC record at 11-7, respectively. However, South Carolina won the head-to-head battle, so therefore they received a 1st and 2nd round bye. If this rule applied to the regular season title, Auburn would have won the outright championship last year. If only.

If Auburn is fortunate enough to get by both Mizzou and Carolina, the Tigers will play the winner of LSU and Florida/Arkansas. This side of the bracket is a lot easier than the bottom side, as Kentucky and Tennessee loom.

Aside from looking ahead, Auburn is going to try and start fast and hopefully they can build up a quick lead so the starters can have some rest. However, a win is a win and any win in the SEC tournament is valuable.

Missouri advancing over UGA is a benefit to Auburn, as Pearl’s Tigers not only match up better with Martin’s squad, but beating Missouri would go down as a Quad-2 win whereas a victory over Georgia would have only counted as a Quad-3 victory.

This is important come NCAA tournament seeding time as Auburn tries to improve their resume, and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Auburn as a 5-seed at this time. Avoiding the dreaded 5-12 matchup would be a welcomed relief, though.

The Auburn basketball program looks to take another big step towards finishing its “Unfinished Business.” The first opponent standing in the way is the Missouri Tigers. To quote Jon Rothstein: This is March. Here. We. Go.

As always, I am leaving you guys with a prediction of how I believe the SEC tournament championship game will go down.

Prediction: (5) Auburn vs (2) KentuckyAuburn will get past LSU in the semifinal due to hot shooting and a revenge factor after Auburn lost earlier in the season in Baton Rouge by just 2 points. This was a game where it appeared that Bryce Brown got fouled on the game-winning shot, but the whistles never blew. And as far as Kentucky goes, Calipari is able to motivate his Wildcats to flip a switch during tournament time and this year is going to be no different.

Score: Kentucky 83 Auburn 77

Calipari does it again and secures a Number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Auburn in the SEC Tournament Championship. However, the Tigers help its stock and rise to a fringe 4 seed as ‘Selection Sunday’ approaches.