More history! Auburn makes second-ever Final Four after eliminating Michigan State
ATLANTA, Ga. — You’ll hear Bruce Pearl say it over and over again. For years, “Make History” been plastered inside the Auburn locker room and it’s a constant message from Pearl to his players and the Tigers’ fanbase.
Well, Pearl and Auburn have done it again.
The Tigers are headed to the second Final Four in program history after beating 2-seed and Big Ten regular season champion Michigan State on Sunday afternoon in the Elite Eight. Auburn will join Florida, Duke and Houston in the Final Four — all No. 1 seeds.
Three of Auburn’s four Elite Eight appearances and now both Final Four appearances all-time have come under Pearl.
The four programs are a combined 135-16 this season. And they are the only four programs inside the Top 12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency in college basketball.
Auburn is 1-2 against the other Final Four participants, beating Houston in Houston, Texas, while losing at Duke during non-conference play and losing at home to Florida during the SEC season.
This will be the fifth time the Alamodome in San Antonio will host the Final Four. In 1998, Kentucky won the title. In 2004, UConn won the title. In 2008, Kansas won the title (where all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four). And in 2018, Villanova won the title.
Auburn beat Alabama State, Creighton and Michigan in the first three rounds before taking care of the Spartans to advance to San Antonio.
It’s been an incredible season.
The Tigers’ 32 wins is now two wins in front of the 2018-19 Final Four team for the most single-season wins in program history.
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Auburn’s now 19 Quad 1 wins is a program record and SEC single-season record. The Tigers are also now 4-0 against the Big Ten this season.
Of the 37 games played this season to date, only nine were against teams that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament. Auburn is 23-5 in those games.
Auburn has played 17 straight games against NCAA Tournament teams. Every game since February 1 has been against a NCAA Tournament team.
According to KenPom, the Tigers played the No. 2-toughest strength of schedule and are still Top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
This Auburn team is now second in program history in points, assists, blocks and three-point shots made. They have a shot at breaking the points and assists records, but will likely need to make the national title game to do it.
The Tigers earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 overall seed.
Auburn was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll for eight-straight weeks from Jan. 13 to March 3 and are one of only two SEC teams to ever be ranked No. 1 for at least six-straight weeks in the AP Poll, joining Kentucky.
