AUBURN — It's go time for Auburn basketball.

The regular season is over, and second chances are no more. Win and advance, that's the name of the game in March. The Tigers, who beat Georgia on Saturday to secure a double bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament, are tasked with winning three games in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena if they'd like to hang their first tournament banner since 2019.

Auburn hasn't had much luck in the conference tournament since winning it five years ago, which was followed by the Tigers going on a ridiculous run through the NCAA Tournament to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history.

No. 4-seeded Auburn won't play in Nashville until the quarterfinals Friday (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN), and its first opponent isn't yet determined; it'll be one of No 5 South Carolina, No. 12 Arkansas or No. 13 Vanderbilt.

Here's a prediction on how far the Tigers can go:

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Auburn basketball SEC Tournament prediction

Auburn 92, South Carolina 80: The Gamecocks will have to get through the winner of Arkansas vs. Vanderbilt, which they should be able to do. The Tigers have already beaten South Carolina this season, and the final margin in that game was 40 points. Not quite the same blowout this time around, but still a double-digit victory.

Tennessee 89, Auburn 88: The No. 1 seed Vols will play, and likely defeat, either No. 8 LSU or No. 9 Mississippi State in the quarterfinals. Tennessee won the SEC regular-season crown this season, and a matchup with Auburn would be a battle between what may be the conference's top two teams − the Tigers finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in KenPom, and the Vols sit at No. 5. It could truly go either way, but Tennessee narrowly beats Auburn to send the Tigers home one game shy of the tournament's finale in this scenario.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: SEC Tournament prediction for Auburn basketball, Bruce Pearl