Auburn shared a graphic explaining why they believe they belong in the NCAA Tournament. It didn't go over well.
At 17-16 overall following their elimination from the SEC Tournament at the hands of Tennessee on Thursday, calling the Tigers a "bubble team" right now is being rather generous. Nevertheless, the team tried to come up with a creative way to explain why they should go dancing with the other 67 teams next week.
In a post on X with the caption "Never ran from a fight #WarEagle" and with a flexing arm emoji, the Auburn Tigers presented four points of data:
- No. 3 strength of schedule
- 2nd-most Quad-1 games played
- "Top Win in the Country" vs. Florida
- Play conference champions from SEC, Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 either away or not neutral sites (written in very small letters)
Never ran from a fight 💪#WarEaglepic.twitter.com/3aIGBv9Bgz
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 13, 2026
"At least you tried"
Saying that Auburn got roasted in their comments section really doesn't do it justice how much fans despised this graphic. They didn't even find many of the points to be compelling either. Here are just some of the replies:
"Despite having the 2nd most Quad 1 games in the nation, you finished tied for 38th for number of wins against Q1 teams. 35 teams ahead of you had less Q1 opportunities and still had more wins than you," one user pointed out.
"Bro u lost to Arizona, Michigan, and Purdue by 30. U can’t brag about strength of schedule when you do that. Give it a rest," another wrote.
"Duke actually has the top win in the country over Michigan. Good luck sitting at home with your 17-16 record," wrote a third.
"Begging for a participation trophy from a program who hired a coach based on who his dad was. Not exactly covering yourselves in glory, guys."
Basketball fans have been rooting against Auburn as an NCAA Tournament team ever since former head coach Bruce Pearl argued that the team deserved to be in over the beloved Miami RedHawks. So it's no surprise to see that Auburn is getting heat right now.
We'll find out if Auburn's case is compelling to the selection committee in about 24 hours.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.