INDIANAPOLIS – The Auburn men's basketball team earned a No. 9 seed in the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship as the field of 68 was announced Sunday.
The Tigers (20-12) earned an at-large bid and their 12th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance next to 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2018, 2019 and 2022. It was the program's fourth berth in the last five tournaments.
"No matter how old you get or how long you've been doing it, it's still very special to see your name and hear your name called," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I just cannot take making this tournament for granted. I'm very proud of the team for making it and putting ourselves in this position."
Auburn is the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region and will play No. 8 Iowa (19-13) on Thursday at 5:50 p.m. CT from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The winner will advance to face either top-seeded Houston (31-3) or No. 16 Northern Kentucky (22-12) in the second round on Saturday.
"To be in Birmingham, for our fans and for our students, it's just awesome," Pearl said. "Hopefully, we'll get great support and see if we can have a shining moment or two."
The Tigers are 18-11 (.621) all-time in NCAA Tournament games and 6-3 under Pearl.
This will be the first meeting between the Tigers and Hawkeyes. Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl served as an assistant coach at Iowa under his mentor Tom Davis from 1986-1992.
The Hawkeyes reached the NCAA Tournament with an at-large berth out of the Big Ten Conference, where they finished 11-9 in league play and fell to Ohio State in the second round of the conference tournament. They were 19-13 overall.
Auburn faced a school-record 13 NCAA Tournament teams this season, topping its previous high of 10 in 2021. Six of those 13 teams were non-conference opponents as Northwestern, Memphis, West Virginia, USC, Colgate and Texas Southern all punched their ticket to the Big Dance.
Auburn makes Big Dance as 9 seed, to face Iowa in Birmingham
