What to know: Auburn basketball facing Alabama State or Saint Francis to start March Madness
AUBURN — Auburn basketball got its wish, but it came at a marginal cost.
The Tigers were named the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament on Sunday, but with their draw, they'll be one of four teams in wait to find out who their first opponent is in round of 64 play.
Auburn's first game will be against one of two 16-seeds: Alabama State or Saint Francis. Those squads won't play until 5:40 p.m. Tuesday, and whichever the Tigers face, they'll also have to prep for a round of 32 matchup with 8-seed Louisville or 9-seed Creighton, both of which were runners-up in their respective conference tournaments.
"I got some of my staff working Alabama State like that's going be the team," Bruce Pearl said. "I've got some other guys on my staff working on St. Francis, because that's going be the team we're going be playing against. That's why, right now, I'll probably spend my first day or two taking a look at Creighton and Louisville, and then once we know who we're playing, it'll have to be a quick study Tuesday night, Wednesday to be able to get ready to go at either"
As the Tigers prep for four different teams, here's what you need to know about the Hornets, the Friars, and when the Tigers will learn which is their opponent.
When does Auburn basketball know who its first NCAA Tournament opponent is?
The Tigers won't know who they're facing until Tuesday night, when Alabama State and Saint Francis tip off at 5:40 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio. It's one of four "First Four" matchups that'll take play between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Eleven-seed North Carolina and 10-seed San Diego State will also play Tuesday (8:10 p.m. CT, truTV), and 16-seeds American and Mount St. Mary's (5:40 p.m. CT, truTV), and 11-seeds Xavier and Texas (8:10 p.m. CT, truTV) will both play Wednesday.
Scouting report: Alabama State
- Scouting Alabama State
- Record: 19-15
- Overall seed: No. 67 (Bid type: Automatic)
- KenPom: -9.24 (No. 273)
- Stat leaders
- Points: G CJ Hines (14.4)
- Rebounds: G TJ Madlock (7.2)
- Steals: G Amarr Knox (1.7)
The Hornets finished fourth in the SWAC this year under third-year coach Tony Madlock, who's amid his best season yet in Montgomery. They're red-hot, too, winning 11 of their past 13 games, including their past six.
Scouting report: Saint Francis
- Scouting Saint Francis
- Record: 16-17
- Overall seed: No. 68 (Bid type: Automatic)
- KenPom: -12.76 (No. 311)
- Stat leaders
- Points: G Riley Parker (13.4)
- Rebounds: F Valentino Pinedo (6.5)
- Assists: G Riley Parker (3.4)
The Friars didn't finish above .500 in regular-season or conference play, but they're in a similar boat as Alabama State, emerging victorious in their past six games. Before that stretch, Saint Francis hadn't won more than two in a row.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Tigers playing Alabama State or Saint Francis in NCAAT
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