After entering the projected NCAA Tournament field in Jerry Palm's Bracketology with a dramatic overtime win over Florida on Thursday, Texas A&M followed up on Friday by stunning No. 1 seed Auburn 67-62 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The outcome avenged an earlier 17-point loss against the Tigers for A&M and sends the No. 8 seed Aggies on to play either LSU or Arkansas in Saturday's semifinals.
The loss drops Auburn to a No. 2 seed according to Palm, with Kentucky moving up to a No. 1 seed for now. The Tigers' hopes for a No. 1 seed aren't completely dead yet.
"Auburn could still backdoor its way to the top line, but the Tigers will need some help to make that happen," Palm said.
The No. 1 seeds after the Tigers' loss are Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor, and Kentucky.
Texas A&M jumped out to a 20-point lead midway through the second half and then fended off an Auburn rally as the Tigers fell to just 5-4 over their past nine games entering Selection Sunday. Auburn entered the day as a projected No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, according to Palm. But that status could be subject to change, depending on what happens over the next couple days in other conference tournaments.
The outcome continues a strong late surge for the Aggies, who have now won six straight games to resurrect NCAA Tournament hopes that appeared moribund during an eight-game SEC losing streak earlier this season. Henry Coleman III and Tyrece Radford led the way for A&M in the first half before Quenton Jackson turned it on in the second half with clutch plays on both ends, including a highlight-reel blocked shot with 58 seconds left that helped cement the outcome.
Quenton Jackson said NOPE 🚫 pic.twitter.com/9NGR8oF4sJ
— ESPN (@espn) March 11, 2022
Auburn shot just 16.2% from the floor in the first half, converting 11 offensive rebounds into just three points and entering the locker room down 37-21. Finally, the Tigers began to rally after falling behind 20. But it was too little, too late.
