SAN ANTONIO — Auburn is the No. 1 overall seed.
It won the loaded SEC’s regular-season crown and has cruised to the Final Four, its four victories by an average of 13.7 points.
Yet, it isn’t favored Saturday night against fellow No. 1 seed Florida.
“Y’all got us underdogs, that’s fine,” star forward and SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome said. “We think we’re the best team here. So, however we get painted, we came here to win.”
Unlike Duke and Florida, popular Final Four picks entering the tournament, Auburn was overlooked.
That was in part due to a sluggish close to the regular season that saw the Tigers lose three of their last four games.
But they have looked more like the dominant group that started the season 27-2 in this tournament.
Nevertheless, Florida is favored by 2.5 points.
The Gators, it should be noted, won the lone meeting between the two on Feb. 8, at Auburn.
“It just shows that we still don’t have the respect we should have,” Tigers sixth man Tahaad Pettiford said. “So it’s just putting that chip on our shoulder.”
“We come in as the overall No. 1, but we’re probably considered the fourth-best team here right now,” coach Bruce Pearl added. “There is nothing new. I prefer the underdog role rather than having to prove that we’re as good as we say we are.”
Cooper Flagg should be a high school senior.
Instead on Friday, the 18-year-old from Maine became the first freshman to win Associated Press National Player of the Year honors since Zion Williamson in 2019.
It was the latest honor for the superstar youngster and projected No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft, who has led Duke to the Final Four.
He is only the fourth freshmen to win the award in its 64-year history. Williamson, Anthony Davis (2012) and Kevin Durant (2007) are the others.
“These are the moments you dream about as a little kid. This is the biggest stage of college basketball,” Flagg said on the eve of Duke’s national semifinal against Houston at the Alamodome. “I’m just trying to cherish these moments with my teammates that we have left. The road ends here.”
Flagg beat out Broome, receiving 41 of 61 votes. The 6-foot-9 forward also was presented with the Oscar Robertson Trophy by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as its National Player of the Year.
