Though things have not gone exactly to plan for the Auburn Tigers early in preseason play, ESPN analysts still seem to be high on the future of the program this season, as on Tuesday, Joe Lunardi updated his official Bracketology predictions for the NCAA Tournament, and the Tigers received a boost in rankings.

The Tigers were a nine seed in Lunardi’s last projections, set to face off against eight-seeded Ohio State, but in the newest projections, the Tigers have been moved up to an eight seed, which would see them facing off against nine-seed Indiana. 

Other teams in the Tigers’ side of the bracket include top-ranked Florida, Duke, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, the winner between Central Arkansas and Howard as well as the winner between Vermont and American University.

This is certainly a nice spot for the Tigers to be in despite their preseason struggles, as the group has yet to earn a win this season with a new-look roster. Adding to the chaos is the fact that Mantas Rubštavičius, an overseas transfer who was expected to be a major contributor for the Tigers, withdrew his eligibility case earlier this week, meaning he will not play for the Tigers.

The Tigers have also fired men’s basketball general manager Brian Kloman for hiding information about Rubštavičius’ academic records, which were reportedly the difference in Rubštavičius’ case. 

It’s certainly an interesting time to be a fan of the Tigers, so it is a nice breath of fresh air to see that national analysts are still high on this team’s expected production. The Tigers lost to Florida State, 82-71, to open preseason play, before falling to Alabama, 87-85, the next week.

The good news for the Tigers, though, is that this caliber of preseason opponent is the best kind of preparation they can get before the season starts, so there shouldn’t be much need for a major adjustment once SEC play begins in the regular season.

After a disappointing 2025-26 season, in which the Tigers missed out on the NCAA Tournament completely and had to settle for an NIT Championship win, it would certainly be a welcome sight for the Auburn faithful to see their team back on the biggest stage in collegiate basketball. 

And if Lunardi is right, the Tigers won’t have much stress as to whether or not they’ll make it into the tournament this year.

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