The Auburn Tigers earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 men's NCAA tournament, but when March Madness rolls around, there's no guarantee for an easy run to the Final Four. Programs like Virginia and Purdue know that all too well.
The top seed doesn't even necessarily mean that a program will have the clearest path among No. 1 seeds. Auburn's road to the Final Four could go through big-time programs like Michigan State, Iowa State, Texas A&M, Michigan, Louisville and Creighton.
During a Pat McAfee Show appearance, ESPN college hoops analyst Seth Greenberg said that Auburn got "screwed" by the draw, particularly because Michigan is the No. 5 seed in the South Region.
"The overall No. 1 seed got screwed! You can't explain it any [other] way," Greenberg said. "... They're going to have to play Michigan to advance. Michigan just won the Big Ten tournament. Michigan's got two 6'11", seven-foot guys in [Vladislav] Goldin and Danny Wolf."
Greenberg believes that not only will the Wolverines frontcourt duo give Auburn trouble, should the two sides meet, but also that Michigan would have the added edge of junior guard Tre Donaldson having played his first two college seasons with the Tigers.
"[Auburn] got screwed." 😳
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) March 18, 2025
—@SethOnHoops weighs in on the teams with the biggest upset risk in the NCAA tournament. (via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/3ekwNPio4K
A date with Michigan in the Sweet 16 wouldn't be the only sticky spot that Auburn could find itself in the first half of the tournament, however. Greenberg believes a potential Round of 32 game against No. 9 seed Creighton (which faces No. 8 Louisville in round one) would be the most difficult draw for any of the one-seeds.
"I think they've got the toughest second-round game in the tournament, even if they win their first game, they get a Creighton team. Creighton is good. The big kid [Ryan] Kalkbrenner is like a one-man zone, they play fast, a really good passing team, a sneaky defensive team stylistically. I think Auburn got the toughest one."
Of course, Auburn can't look past its first game, as we've seen multiple No. 16 over No. 1 upsets in the last few years. The Tigers will face the winner of Tuesday's St. Francis (PA) vs. Alabama State game. Auburn's first-round game tips off at 2:50 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 20.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Hoops Analyst Believes Auburn Got 'Screwed' With NCAA Tournament Matchups.
