Busting Brackets
Fansided

Auburn Basketball: How Tigers reached the 2019 Final Four

By Dakota Cox

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)
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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 9
Next
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: A detail of a March Madness microphone prior to the game between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: A detail of a March Madness microphone prior to the game between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Chances Auburn gets back to another Final Four

I don’t want to be a pessimist, but I believe Auburn fans should be enjoying every second of what is happening right now, because it’s not going to happen again soon. This is for many reasons.

First, Bryce Brown is a senior. He’s probably the biggest reason why Auburn gets to do what they do. His points alone will be tough enough to replace. Add in his leadership and tempo, and he’s near irreplaceable.

The only other confirmed loss on the roster will be Horace Spencer. He’s not a huge cog that this team has, but he will still be quality minutes that have to be replaced.

Outside of them, there’s no NBA draft locks. However, there are a lot of juniors. After a year filled with as many accomplishments as they have had this season, some might decide to leave early to declare for the draft. Even if they aren’t drafted, they would be gaining a year of paid work in some professional league. This might not be the case, but it wouldn’t shock me if Jared Harper took this route. If he believes he has nothing else to prove as a professional player, he might take the risk. After all, he’s not getting any younger.

Another concern will be if Bruce Pearl ends up staying at Auburn. Being this successful in such a short amount of time, there will surely be teams with coaching vacancies ready to throw money his way. It would take a lot to lure Pearl from Auburn, but some teams have money to burn in easier conferences with better recruiting pipelines. It will just depend on if Pearl is considering a change of scenery.

Next. Elite 8 takeaways. dark

Add all this together with the fact that this run was unlikely, and it just makes the thought of repeating incredibly small. I mean, Auburn wasn’t supposed to make the Final Four once. They were a 5-seed for a reason. After all, this is their first trip to the Final Four in program history. History repeats itself, but not in just one year.

Home/Auburn Tigers