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Auburn Helps Make NCAA Tournament History

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Mar 30, 2025 7:49 PM ET

The Auburn Tigers reached the Final Four for the first time since the 2018-2019 season on Sunday after beating the Michigan State Spartans 70-64.

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel pointed out on X that Auburn's win caused something to happen for the first time since the 2008 NCAA Tournament. With Auburn's win, only No. 1 seeds made the Final Four.

The last time was when Derrick Rose was on the Memphis Tigers, the North Carolina Tar Heels had Tyler Hansbrough, the UCLA Bruins had Kevin Love, and the Kansas Jayhawks had Mario Chalmers.

The Final Four will contain Auburn, the Florida Gators, Duke Blue Devils and Houston Cougars.

The Final Four contains Auburn, the Florida Gators, Duke Blue Devils and Houston Cougars.

Duke advanced after beating the Alabama Crimson Tide 85-65, and Houston knocked off the Tennessee Volunteers 69-50.

Johni Broome once again led Auburn in scoring, finishing with 25 points, but suffered an injury scare during the second half. Broome went up to contest a shot, fell awkwardly on his ankle, and began clutching his elbow.

Broome went to the locker room for X-rays and eventually returned to a loud applause from fans. He later hit a three-point shot to extend Auburn's lead to 12 points.

Tahaad Pettiford remains a reliable scoring option off the bench for Auburn, as he ended the game with 10 points.

With Auburn's win over Michigan State's Tom Izzo, it was the first time the head coach has lost to an SEC school in the NCAA Tournament. Izzo was a perfect 10-0 against the SEC in March Madness before Sunday's loss.

Auburn faces Florida on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas. The two teams played in the regular season, with the Gators winning 90-81.

Tipoff is at 6:09 p.m. ET on CBS.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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