Auburn Basketball: How Tigers reached the 2019 Final Four

By Dakota Cox | Apr 2, 2019

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers and head coach Bruce Pearl celebrate after the 84-64 win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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LAFAYETTE HILL, PA – SEPTEMBER 11: NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley looks on while smoking a cigar during the Julius Erving Golf Classic at The ACE Club on September 11, 2017 in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images for PGD Global) /

Preseason expectations for Auburn

As previously stated, expectations were incredibly high for Auburn this year. Winning a portion of the regular season SEC title made everyone expect more this year. In fact, some expected them to win the SEC outright.

Going into this year, the most logical place to place Auburn would be in third. Kentucky came in with hype as the best team in the country, and Tennessee somehow brought back more talent than Auburn. Some might have had LSU ahead of them, but somewhere in that 3-5 range was safe for Auburn.

In terms of individual accolades, there were hopes of players like Jared Harper and Bryce Brown possibly winning SEC Player of the Year. Both were expected to see their already-large roles inside the offense expand with the absence of Heron. Their numbers would have to have increased sizably, but it wasn’t out of the picture. At the very least, they should’ve made an SEC team.

If you’re looking at the grand scheme of the season, the Tigers were expected to make at least the Sweet Sixteen. They had to make it further than their Round of 32 exit from 2018. If not, there would be concerns about whether or not this team had the fortitude to go deep in the NCAA Tournament.

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