| MATCHUP | South Alabama Jaguars | Auburn Tigers |
|---|---|---|
| Team Records | 21-11 | 17-16 |
| Where | Auburn Stadium | |
| When | Tuesday, March 17, 2026 | |
| Time | 10:00 PM EDT | |
| TV | ESPN2 | |
The South Alabama Jaguars and the Auburn Tigers meet Tuesday in NIT college basketball action from Auburn Arena. Here’s a South Alabama vs Auburn prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Alabama vs Auburn pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.
South Alabama Jaguars Betting Preview
The Jaguars managed to go 13-6 over their first 19 games this year, then hit a nice 6-1 run. Those victories came versus James Madison, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Buffalo, Southern Miss and Arkansas State. The Jaguars finished off the regular season on a 2-3 run with losses to Marshall, Texas State and Southern Miss, then fell to Georgia Southern in the conference tournament.
On Friday versus Georgia Southern, South Alabama went into the locker room at halftime with a three-point lead 43-40. The Jaguars couldn’t hold it in the second half on a 54-42 deficit though, and ended up falling 94-85 in the end. Chaze Harris was tops on the team in the losing effort with 17 points, 10 assists and six boards while both Adam Olsen and Hantz Louis-Jeune had 16 points each.
Auburn Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Auburn side, they opened up the season on a 14-7 run. The next five were losses to Tennessee, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Mississippi State, then came a win over Kentucky. The Tigers lost to Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Alabama over the next four, then beat Mississippi State in the conference tourney. Auburn fell to Tennessee in their next outing, giving the team a 17-16 run.
Matched up against the Vols on Thursday, the Tigers were leaving the court after the first half with a 32-25 advantage. Auburn was hit with a 47-30 deficit the rest of the way however, eventually falling 72-62 in the end. Tahaad Pettiford led the way with 28 points and four rebonds in the losing effort while Keyshawn Hall added 10 points with six rebounds for the Tigers.
South Alabama vs Auburn Prediction
I’ll lean toward Auburn. The Tigers had a good first half versus a talented Tennessee team in their conference tournament loss but couldn’t hold it together in the end. Auburn shot just 35 percent from the field with a 37-32 rebounding deficit and a 28-20 disadvantage on points in the paint. The Tigers have won just three games since January 28, but in their defense they’ve played some pretty difficult competition in that time.
As for South Alabama, they shot a nice 47.5 percent from the field in their loss to Georgia Southern, but also gave up 55.8 percent on defense. The good news is that the Jaguars had a dominant edge in the paint 36-12 and hit 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from outside. South Alabama has been pretty erratic on the scoreboard over the last four games; they’re going to need to be on point in order to keep up here.