NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Auburn men's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year and the 10th time in program history.
The Tigers, who will represent the SEC after winning the conference tournament championship on Sunday, earned a 5 seed in the Midwest Region and will travel to Salt Lake City for an opening-round matchup against New Mexico State on Thursday.
It's a New Mexico State team, coached by Chris Jans, that won the WAC regular season and conference titles and are one of five Division I teams with 30 or more wins this season.
"I know Chris Jans," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I know his teams play really hard. They're very athletic. They play in an underrated conference. Of course, we're the dreaded 5-12 game. We're going to celebrate a championship tonight. The coaches will get together, and we'll go work on New Mexico State."
With a win, Auburn will play the winner of the Kansas and Northeastern on Saturday.
"We have a four-team tournament right now," Pearl said. "Northeastern, Kansas, Auburn and New Mexico State will play for the opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16."
"It's one game at a time," added senior Horace Spencer. "You can't look into the future. You have to look at the present. We'll just focus on one game at a time, and New Mexico State is first."
The 5 seed is tied for the third-highest seed in program history. The Tigers were a 4 seed a year ago, and they earned a 1 seed in 1999. Including last year's 62-58 win over College of Charleston in the first round last year, Auburn has won at least one game in eight straight NCAA tournament appearances.
This year's Auburn team heads into the tournament riding an eight-game winning streak after winning four straight in Nashville. They have 26 wins overall.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf