NIT Championship Observations: Auburn 92, Tulsa 86 (OT)
The NIT title game really was a "Greatest Hits" performance of Auburn's season. But these Tigers — somehow — refused to finish on a sour note.
INDIANAPOLIS — Sebastian Williams-Adams said he was having flashbacks.
The first one he recalled was Auburn’s most recent loss, when the Tigers blew a double-digit lead in the second half by way of a 20-0 run. That loss was the final blow to Auburn’s NCAA Tournament hopes, as it would be denied a bid a few days later.
Auburn’s second-half meltdown against Tulsa in the NIT final wasn’t quite as massive, but it was even worse in some ways. The Tigers were up by 20 with 17:34 to play and found themselves trailing a little more than seven minutes later. It was a 26-4 run.
The second flashback for Williams-Adams was Georgia, where Auburn forced overtime in the SEC opener with a miraculous last-second comeback. That game featured multiple Tigers fouling out, impacting their chances in the extra period.
Auburn was down by four with 18 seconds remaining in regulation Sunday night. After Elyjah Freeman split his free throws, the Tigers forced a turnover with a 5-second call. Then Kevin Overton — who forced overtime against Georgia — hit a 3 to tie it up.
Those first two flashbacks for Williams-Adams were Auburn losses. That’s understandable, as Auburn lost 16 games this season. There were plenty of negative memories from this first season under Steven Pearl, from blown leads and missed opportunities to defensive meltdowns and even a few lopsided losses.
But, of course, they weren’t all bad.
Williams-Adams then mentioned Auburn’s season opener, five months ago, against Bethune-Cookman. He brought that up because he had to play center in that game, even though he’s best-suited for power forward or even small forward.
That opener was also an overtime win — and so was the closer.
“It was a culmination of our season,” Williams-Adams said in the locker room in Indianapolis late Sunday night, with a string from a cut-down net tied to an NIT Champions hat. “I'm just glad it ended on the right note.”
Pearl used the word “microcosm” instead of “culmination,” but the sentiment remained the same. He watched the best and the worst of his team’s season play out right in front of his eyes one more time Sunday night.
Still, he got to end his first season with a hug from his father and a climb up a ladder. Auburn outlasted Tulsa in overtime after yet another miracle finish to regulation, winning 92-86 to complete the 5-for-5 gauntlet of mid-majors to win the NIT title.
“Played really well, let them back into it, went through a tough stretch,” Pearl said. “And we stayed resilient, we didn't give up, pushed that thing to overtime and played overtime with, really, five guards. We have no size, and everyone was fouled out.
“They pushed through and they found a way. So I'm really proud and grateful for these guys.”
The story of the 2025-26 Auburn men’s basketball team will not be one that is repeated with nearly the same fondness as others in recent years. Missing the NCAA Tournament is now falling below the standard that has been set on the Plains.
The Tigers had several notable wins but more standout losses. They were never able to play consistently strong defense, which had been their hallmark, and they could fall into some cold spells that were uncharacteristic of their last few predecessors.
But this was a team that faced adversity from the beginning — and maybe even before the beginning. Bruce Pearl decided to retire right before the start of preseason practices. Suddenly, a team that only returned one player and was breaking in several newcomers to Division I basketball had a first-year man in charge.
There were plenty of chances to pack it in and quit. There were even times when it looked like the Tigers were doing just that. The late-season collapse, followed by a brutal start in an NIT that many Auburn fans didn’t even want to see, was prime territory for this team to head into the offseason with terrible vibes.
“Lesser-character young men would have folded it up and just gotten to the offseason,” Pearl said.
And yet, Auburn will be one of just three teams in Division I basketball that got to end this season with a win. That’s not a bad consolation prize after all, now is it?
“I think it says a lot,” said Overton, the NIT’s Most Outstanding Player. “I think we all had that moment of doubt in the year. Truthfully, we didn’t all really want to play… We could have packed it up. But we came together. We made a decision.
“Once we started playing it became, ‘OK, it’s basketball at the end of the day, and we’re still competitors. Let’s go win the game.’ Obviously, we didn’t want to be where we were, but we are the ones that got in that situation, so let’s just go make the best of it.”
Auburn made the absolute best of a tough situation at the very end of a challenging season. The Tigers will walk away with some hardware, plenty of welcome extra reps for a young roster and a sense of momentum heading into a crucial offseason.
“I want the Auburn family to remember this group for their resilience and their toughness and their ability to stay together through some difficult stretches,” Pearl said. “You know, it’s a group that really appreciated what the Auburn family gave to them and the support that they gave.
“I think they just kind of wanted to do the fan base proud and the university proud, and I felt like they did that over the last couple weeks.”
For the final time this season, here are four Observations from Auburn’s win — along with the Rotation Charts, Nerd Stats and Quote of the Night.
It just had to be Kevin Overton
Overton insists the play call wasn’t specifically for him.
After Auburn got the 5-second call to get the ball back, down by three points with 8.8 seconds left, the Tigers ran a BLOB — baseline out of bounds — set to go for the tie.
Overton cut from the left block to the right corner, taking advantage of a tough screen from Williams-Adams. Pettiford passed the ball straight to Overton, who immediately caught it and shot it.
Nothing but net.
“That's just a regular play we have,” Overton said. “Can't really give out the scheme of what it is, but it's not exactly for me. We have a couple different…”
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