AUBURN — If the season ended today, Auburn basketball would be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to the in-season preview bracket released by the NCAA Selection Committee on Saturday.

The committee only releases its top 16 teams at the moment. The Tigers (20-5, 9-3 SEC), who have won four of their last fives games and recently beat South Carolina by 40 points in Neville Arena, are tabbed as the No. 13 overall team in the field. They're currently placed in the West Region.

Auburn is joined in the 4-seed line by No. 14 San Diego State, No. 15 Illinois and No. 16 Wisconsin.

The Tigers were one of three SEC teams included in the top 16, along with 2-seed Tennessee and 3-seed Alabama. They'll have a chance to improve their resume with a test against Kentucky on Saturday (5 p.m. CT, ESPN). The matchup with the Wildcats is a Quadrant 1 opportunity.

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NCAA Selection Committee releases in-season top 16 teams: Where Auburn basketball landed

1. Purdue

2. UConn

3. Houston

4. Arizona

5. North Carolina

6. Tennessee

7. Marquette

8. Kansas

9. Alabama

10. Baylor

11. Iowa State

12. Duke

13. Auburn

14. San Diego State

15. Illinois

16. Wisconsin

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: March Madness preview bracket: Where Auburn basketball landed