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For the first time since I was seven years old, Auburn won a game inside Rupp Arena.

There have been many times I’ve wanted to see Auburn beat the Kentucky Wildcats inside of the hallowed arena, but the Tigers came up short. Many of those times were blowout losses, including a blowout days before the NCAA Tournament began in 2019. 

However, since Auburn’s rematch with Kentucky in the Elite Eight of the 2019 tournament, things have been different. Sure, Auburn hadn’t won at Kentucky in those meetings. However, all but one of the meetings has been very close. 

This is one of those games that will go down in Auburn history. For many of us who have been watching Auburn play basketball through so many bad years, this one really lets us know that the Tiger basketball program has arrived.

They didn’t end the streak just with a close win. It was a dominant win that was nearly wire-to-wire. Kentucky led for less than 20 seconds, or one possession in the shot clock.

It truly is amazing what Bruce Pearl has built at Auburn. The program has been in steady ascent over the past decade. True, there were a couple of setbacks over the past couple of seasons. Auburn hasn’t gotten past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the 2019 Final Four appearance. They also suffered a devastating loss to Yale in the first round of the tournament last season, the same season that rival Alabama made the Final Four for the first time ever.

All of that has seemed to fuel Pearl and the program this year to do even better. Auburn clinched the SEC Championship on the home floor of the bluest of blue bloods the conference has. True, the celebration was a little bit over the top. However, this is a program that has never been here before. 

They are in line to get the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hoping to put themselves in position to play for a national championship. And the funny thing is, Auburn may have to do it against teams they have already played once this season. They fell to Duke and Florida. Both teams could likely have 1 seeds in other regions. 

Alabama is among the best teams in the country. The Tide are an elite team even though their record doesn’t look as pristine as Auburn’s does, but don’t be fooled. Bama is poised for another deep run.

And Tennessee is right there too. This year’s SEC has been one of the ages. They are likely going to get all but three or four teams in the tournament this year. 

While the national championship is the goal for this team, we as fans have to take a step back and admire where we are. This is a special team, and they should be celebrated regardless of how the postseason goes.

 

Brent Maze is the publisher of The Demopolis Times. He can be reached at brent.maze@demopolistimes.com.