Auburn men's basketball
In 2010, Auburn University's men's basketball team received the highest national ranking for a university basketball team in over 30 years. They became the first Tigers squad to ever receive an #1 ranking. This was also the first time since 1984 that Auburn had a winning record. In addition, they made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Coach Bruce Pearl and his star player, Anthony Epps, led their effort to achieve these remarkable results.
One of the major highlights of Coach Pearl's first season at Auburn was the team's success at the NCAA tournament. They defeated two ranked teams on their way to the big event. They also managed to hold off Arizona for 40 minutes before losing. Although they lost to Kansas in the final, their performance was enough to catch the attention of many basketball fans. This was especially true once their play at the tournament went viral via social media. This proved that there is plenty of excitement surrounding Auburn basketball now that Bruce Pearl is leading his team on the court.
Auburn fans are generally very pleased with each year's performance as well. In 2018, they made it all the way to the National Championship game- only to fall short to University of Villanova. The team has also won at least a share of every SEC regular season and tournament title since Coach Pearl took over the program. Despite all this success, many college basketball experts still consider Auburn one of the best teams in the nation when they are at their best. Many pundits have argued that they are better than both Michigan and Villanova when these teams met in the finals this past year.
To compliment their on-court success, Auburn fans are also extremely loyal off the court. Each year, thousands of fans travel from around Alabama and even from neighboring states to watch their team play at home games. Fans have also been known to travel to watch their team play away from Auburn Arena- including one instance where they attended a basketball game in Jackson, Mississippi. Due a severe snowstorm in their area, they were among only 466 people in attendance at Jackson State University's JQH Arena that night.
The past decade has seen a major turnaround for men's basketball at Auburn University under new head coach Bruce Pearl. Fans are excited about his team's performance both on and off the court and are eager to see what new achievements he will bring them next year. The athletic arena in Auburn is always packed with fans ready to support their beloved Tigers with both feet!
