Auburn is making its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2019, beating Alabama State and Creighton to get there. Michigan is in the second week for the first time since 2022, beating UC San Diego and Texas A&M in the first two rounds.

Auburn basketball faces 8-seed Creighton this evening with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. Stay tuned here for the Montgomery Advertiser's live updates from Lexington.

The national championship dreams for the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide are still alive and well after a pair of weekend wins in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was no sure thing, and experienced Creighton made his top-seeded team work for it before the Tigers found their defensive mojo in the second half and closed out the ninth-seeded Bluejays 82-70 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16.

The “can’t” turned out to be Ashworth and his backcourt mates in trying to hold down Auburn guards Tahaad Pettiford, Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones. Those three combined for 39 of Auburn’s 47 points after the break in an 82-70 comeback win,