AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men’s basketball team is the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT and will host South Alabama in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday night at Neville Arena. Tip is set for 9 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The winner of Auburn and South Alabama will get the winner of No. 4 Seattle University and No. 5 St. Thomas (MN). If Auburn defeats South Alabama, round two will also be played at Neville Arena.
Auburn enters the NIT with an overall record of 17-16 and was listed as the second team out of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers boast the nation’s No. 3 strength of schedule and defeated seven NCAA Tournament teams (No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 St. John’s, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 11 Texas, No. 11 NC State and No. 15 Queens).
This is Auburn’s seventh appearance in the NIT and the first since 2009 when they advanced to the third round, the furthest the Tigers have ever gone in the NIT. Auburn is 4-6 overall in this tournament.
Auburn is 8-4 against South Alabama and has won five straight in the series. The Jags are 21-11 overall and finished 11-7 in the Sun Belt.