BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A year ago, Auburn was a popular pick to make the Final Four. The Tigers were ranked No. 1 for a stretch during the season, won the SEC regular season championship and came into March Madness as a No. 2 seed.
Next Game:
Houston
March 18, 2023
6:10 p.m. CT
TV: TBS
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
This year, many people didn't have Auburn making it out of the first round. That's what happens when you lose two first round NBA draft picks in Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
"We know we're the underdogs," senior guard Zep Jasper said Friday.
But those underdogs did win their first game, taking down Iowa in the Round of 64, and now this Auburn team, a No. 9 seed, has a chance to do something Saturday night that last year's team was unable to do – reach the Sweet 16. The only thing standing in their way is Houston, the No. 1 team in both the NET and KenPom rankings coming into the NCAA Tournament.
"We know a lot of people aren't counting us to win," Jasper added. "Houston is one of the best teams in the country. But it's nothing we haven't seen before."
"(No. 1 seeds lose) every year," fellow guard Wendell Green Jr. said. "It's something that can be done. We just have to control what we can control. We've beaten ourselves a lot this year against good teams. If we can control that, we'll have a good chance against anybody."
Houston might very well be the best team Auburn will have played this season, but the Tigers come in battle-tested and playing their best basketball of the season.
"We should be confident and feel good about ourselves," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Let's just take three out of the last four games – at Alabama, home against Tennessee, and then last night against Iowa. We played three really good basketball games. The game at Arkansas in the SEC Tournament, they played really well. We didn't play great. But we played really well three of the last four times we played.
"Can we continue to play that well? I think the biggest thing is Houston's physicality, their ability to go get the ball, their length and their athleticism. That will remind my Auburn team of the most athletic, physical, tough teams in the SEC that we've had our hands full with."
Unlike last year, however, nobody is expecting Auburn to win. The pressure will be on Houston. The Tigers will be the underdogs. They can relax and play their game.
"We're just ready to go out there and have fun," Green said. "That's when we're at our best."
Auburn and Houston will tip off at 6:10 p.m. CT from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Andy Burcham and Joe Ciampi will have the radio call. The game will also be televised on TBS with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call.
PLAYER TO WATCH: JOHNI BROOME
Sophomore big man Johni Broome led the Tigers with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in their first round win over Iowa on Thursday. He became the first SEC player to record 15+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ blocked shots in an NCAA Tournament game since Kentucky's Anthony Davis in 2012. It was Broome's 10th double-double of the season and the 46th of his career. He's now scored in double figures in eight straight games and leads the team in points per game (14.2), rebounds per game (8.5) and blocks per game (2.4).
INSIDE THE SERIES: HOUSTON
Houston leads 6-1 in the all-time series with Auburn and has won the last five meetings. The two last played during the 1982-83 season when Houston's Phi Slama Jama team beat an Auburn team that featured Charles Barkley, Chuck Person and Darrell Lockhart. The Tigers' lone win in the series (W, 71-69) came on Dec. 29, 1962, in New Orleans.
This will be the first meeting between Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson who both rank among the top 15 active coaches in most career wins.
FIRST ROUND SUCCESS
Following an 83-75 victory over Iowa on Thursday, Auburn is now 11-0 in NCAA First Round games since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams. The streak started back in 1985. Current head coach Bruce Pearl is 4-0 in Round of 64 games with wins over Charleston (13), New Mexico State (12), Jacksonville State (15) and Iowa (8).