Auburn has reached the sweet 16 spots in March Madness for the first time since 2003.

What in the world is March Madness? March Madness is a popular name for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It’s a single elimination tournament where 68 teams compete in 7 rounds for the national championship that runs from mid-March to early April. It is a really big deal for college basketball teams and their respective schools, especially for Auburn University’s basketball team, who made it to the top sixteen teams to proceed in the tournament. The fans are very excited about the “sweet 16” as well. “I’m stoked,” said Mrs. Windsor, a teacher at Bob Jones High School, who is a very avid fan of the Auburn Tigers and is pleased by how far the team has gotten so far.

Auburn’s journey started by facing New Mexico State, winning the game with a final score of 78 – 77. Talk about a close game! New Mexico State could have finished the game with a tie, but they lost to a missed layup and two missed free throws. After that, the Tigers played in Salt Lake City against the University of Kansas, winning with a final score of 89 – 75. These two wins carried Auburn to be in the sweet 16, where Auburn’s next opponent will be North Carolina on March 29.

Watchers that have viewed the tournaments all have unique opinions on who will continue on the bracket and have mixed feelings on how far Auburn will proceed. “North Carolina is going to sweep Auburn,” said Jimmy Carter, a Bob Jones student. “The team has Luke Maye, who is an especially skilled player and can definitely win against [Auburn].” His opinion isn’t tilted for North Carolina though, as he continued to state that North Carolina might make it to the Final Four, but will most likely lose to Purdue or Virginia.

Good luck to Auburn on March 29. For updates, check out the NCAA.