Ad Disclosure
Auburn a unanimous No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament bracket preview
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Auburn was tabbed as the No. 1 overall seed in unanimous fashion by the NCAA Tournament selection committee on Saturday.
During a preview show on CBS, representatives for the selection committee provided an early look at its current top 16 seeds with just over a month before March Madness begins. The SEC held 3 of the top 4 spots overall.
“Of all the voters in our group that were available to vote, they were the unanimous choice. They are clearly our No. 1,” selection committee chairman Bubba Cunningham said.
The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 ahead of a showdown against No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, are 22-2 overall and 10-1 in SEC play. Auburn‘s only losses on the season have come at Duke and against Florida, but other than that, Bruce Pearl’s team has barely put a foot wrong.
Johni Broome, in his final season, has had a career year, averaging a double-double (18.1 ppg-10.7 rpg) along with 2.7 blocks per game. He was sidelined for several games in January due to an ankle injury but returned on Jan. 15, averaging 18.6 points, 10.8 boards, and 2.8 blocks in his last 6 outings.
The Tigers will be looking to claim their first No. 1 seed in the tournament since 1999. The highest they’ve been slotted since then is No. 2 in 2022, when they defeated 15th-seeded Jacksonville State in the first round before an upset loss to 10th-seeded Miami.
Auburn is currently the co-favorite to win the national championship at bet365, with Duke matching its current odds of +400. Alabama is next at +850.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
