Auburn will Win the NCAA Tournament - Reasons by Shawn O'Neal

Latest Reasons

• Easiest prediction in the Final Four: Johni Broome will suffer a fairly serious-looking injury, limp off the court ... and then come back and go for 10 -and-10 with less than 5 minutes to play. Broome is a national POY contender, but is the clear champ in Willis Reeding.

• With the portal open and rolling and Bruce Pearl's recruiting skills, RJ Luis and Donovan Dent could yet suit up for the Tigers and be named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

• Bruce Pearl famously -- and lovingly --calls his freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford "a little shit." If he is not already, he is about to be a "little shit millionaire," either through an NBA deal or whatever NIL money the Tigers round up to keep him in town. Kid is a game changer.

• Auburn is almost always the best defensive team on the court, ranked eighth nationally in KenPom's efficiency metric ... but is the third best in the Final Four, rated better than only Saturday foe Florida.

• In a just world, Dylan Cardwell is on the All-SEC team somewhere or, at the bare minimum, an all-defensive team member. But he received none of those accolades, which is a shame. He might be the best, least decorated player in the game -- and has been every bit Broome's equal down the stretch in all ways other than scoring. Championship teams always have great players who do not need the ball to be great. He's that guy for Bruce Pearl ... and a five-year Tiger, too.

New Reasons

• Bruce Pearl has won everyplace he has gone and has yet another chance to shed the title of "Best Coach without a National Title," that he shares with Mark Few, Kelvin Sampson and Rick Barnes.

• Some coaches leave their jobs for higher-profile roles with other programs when the season ends, but Pearl pressers seem like he's auditioning for U.S. State Department role crafting future policy as it pertains to Gaza.

• Statistically, Tigers are the best at nothing, but incredibly good at just about everything -- third in adjusted offense nationally, 12in in defense.

• Losers of three of four entering the tourney, got back on track with wins over Alabama State and Creighton, has momentum back in right direction.

• Every Auburn player is 114 or better in offensive efficiency. Pearl has crafted a machine and is ready to win big.

Original Reasons

1With Cooper Flagg gimpy, Johni Broome is the best (presumably) healthy player in the nation and is having his best season as a college player in his fifth year, averaging a double-double and is also shot blocking machine. Not the best player in Auburn history -- see Barkley, Charles -- but sure as hell looks like it a lot of nights.

2.Still pissed about losing to Virginia in the 2019 Final Four on a controversial call, plays with a chip on their shoulder and grinder mentality.

3Team was incentivized to earn overall No. 1 seed and play very close to home. Short flights are good for team that forced an airplane grounded after getting in an in-flight fight on its way to beat Houston early in the season.

4.Still pissed about losing in first round last year against Yale -- of all freaking teams -- in a game where Chad Baker-Mazara was ejected on a controversial call. Also got ejected in the home loss to Alabama this year. The Dominican is a difference maker and the lessons are learned ... he'll be dialed in.

 5Broome or Baker-Mazara could be the best defensive player on most teams, but Denver Jones has that honor for the Tigers. When Davion Mitchell was at Baylor, his nickname was "Off-Night," because every player he defended had one. That's Jones, a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

6.Everybody should root for the Tigers as, if Bruce Pearl is on the sideline, he can’t be on Twitter.

7.Bruce Pearl among the finalists to portray Frank Costanza in any potential “Seinfeld” rebo

Shawn O'Neal