The Auburn Tigers are looking to rebound from a disappointing opening to Steven Pearl's tenure as the head coach of its basketball program, as the team went from a Final Four appearance to an NIT Championship win in the span of just a year.
However, the Tigers reloaded their roster this offseason with a host of talent from all across the country-and even some from outside the country. The Tigers' new-look roster is appearing quite strong, and ESPN's Joe Lunardi has already predicted the Tigers will find their way back into the NCAA Tournament this season.
As it stands, Lunardi has the Tigers ending up as a nine seed, playing eighth-seeded Ohio State in the first round of the tournament. If Lunardi is correct, the Tigers will open their NCAA Tournament in Charlotte, alongside Duke, Florida, Marquette, Indiana, the winner of ETSU and Merrimack and the winner of American and Vermont.
After last season's disappointment, much changed on the Tigers' roster, as Keyshawn Hall and KeShawn Murphy, two of the Tigers' key starters, graduated, while other key pieces like Sebastian Williams-Adams, Elyjah Freeman, Filip Jovi and Kaden Magwood all hit the portal in search of greener pastures.
That hasn't slowed the Tigers down, though, as they have been quite busy in the portal and recruiting ranks, picking up several notable players, including French 7-footer Narcisse Ngoy, who was recently approved for two years of eligibility by the NCAA.
Lithuanian guard Mantas Rubtaviius, the other major overseas transfer for the Tigers, has yet to be approved to play, though he has participated in the Tigers' overseas scrimmages and Pro Day.
The Tigers also picked up a few key players by more traditional means, as Vanderbilt transfer George Kimble is expected to get some reps at the point guard spot behind Tahaad Pettiford, while Adam Olsen, a South Alabama transfer, is expected to contribute at the small forward or power forward position.
Additionally, the Tigers picked up some more height in Santa Clara transfer Bukky Oboye, who stands at 7-foot-1 and will be a great complementary piece to Ngoy in the paint.
Two major players stuck around from last season: first, Tahaad Pettiford, the lone starting survivor of the Tigers' 2024 Final Four team, is entering his junior year of eligibility and will have one more year barring a decision to head to the NBA.
NIT Most Outstanding Player Kevin Overton will also rejoin the Tigers for his final year of eligibility, and he has been clear that he's expecting the Tigers to go much farther than they did last season.
The Tigers look almost completely different from last year, as they did in the year before, so the pressure will fall on Steven Pearl and company to make sure that this season's result is significantly different from the disappointment of last season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Auburn Basketball Receives Favorable Tournament Projection.