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USA Today
30-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Auburn forward Jabari Smith intends to sign extension with Houston Rockets
Former Auburn forward and current Houston Rocket, Jabari Smith, to sign rookie extension Former Auburn forward Jabari Smith will be a Houston Rockets for many years to come it appears. On Sunday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Smith intended to sign a rookie extension for five years and $122 million. The extension will run through the 2030-31 season. Smith is part of a young Rockets roster that made a huge jump this past season. Houston gained the No. 2 seed in the very difficult western conference with a 52-30 record. The prior season, the Rockets just missed the NBA Play-In Tournament with a 41-41 record. The inexperience of the Rockets showed once they reached the postseason and were matched up against veteran Golden State Warriors. Houston lost the first round series 4-3. In his third year in the NBA, Smith averaged 12.2 points per game and 7.1 rebounds for the 2024-25 season. Those numbers did drop in the playoffs versus the Warriors, but Smith found success from the three-point shooting 46%. He is a key part of a team that will look to replicate that regular season success next season with more wins in the postseason. The Rockets have already added Kevin Durant to the roster for the 2025-26 season. Smith only played one season for the Auburn Tigers, but it was a memorable one. The Tigers won the SEC Regular Season Championship for the 2021-22 season, posting a 15-3 conference record and were 28-5. Individually for Smith, he collected many accolades. He was named SEC Freshman of the Year and First-team All-SEC. Smith averaged 16.9 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. Unfortunately, the Tigers season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against the Miami Hurricanes. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Phillip on Twitter @PJordanSEC
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
SEC Baseball Standings: Where LSU sits before final week of regular season
SEC Baseball Standings: Where LSU sits before final week of regular season The SEC baseball regular season is winding down with just one more weekend to go before the SEC Tournament begins next week. Soon enough, the NCAA Tournament will be here. LSU is feeling good. The Tigers took two of three from No. 7 Arkansas, adding a strong bullet point to the resume. All LSU has to do is take care of business vs. South Carolina and the Tigers will be a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament. Every game matters at this point in the season. Texas A&M learned that the hard way over the weekend. One week after taking a series from LSU, the Aggies were swept by a Missouri team that entered the weekend winless in SEC play. Now, A&M needs to sweep Georgia or pull off a miracle in the conference tournament if postseason baseball is in the Aggies' future. Elsewhere in the conference, Florida took two of three from No. 1 Texas. The Gators stay hot as Texas dropped its second straight series. Even with the recent struggles, the Longhorns remain well-positioned to claim the SEC's regular season championship. Here's a complete look at the SEC baseball standings before the final series of the regular season. SEC Baseball Standings Team Conf Overall Home Road Neutral Streak Texas 20-7 40-9 26-4 9-4 5-1 W1 Arkansas 18-9 41-11 30-3 8-7 3-1 W1 LSU 17-10 40-12 30-5 6-7 4-0 L1 Georgia 16-11 40-12 27-3 10-9 3-0 L1 Vanderbilt 16-11 36-16 25-5 10-9 1-2 W2 Auburn 16-11 36-15 24-6 6-9 6-0 W4 Tennessee 15-12 39-13 28-9 8-4 3-0 L2 Alabama 14-13 38-13 24-7 10-6 4-0 W1 Ole Miss 14-13 34-17 22-7 9-8 3-2 L2 Kentucky 13-14 28-20 17-10 10-10 0-0 W3 Oklahoma 13-14 32-17 19-8 9-8 4-0 L4 Florida 13-14 34-18 24-9 10-8 0-1 L1 Mississippi State 12-15 31-20 22-8 6-9 3-3 W2 Texas A&M 10-17 27-23 21-13 5-8 1-2 L3 South Carolina 5-22 26-26 21-10 4-14 1-2 L6 Missouri 3-24 16-35 8-17 4-15 4-3 W3 Texas still holds a two-game lead at the top of the conference, even after a rough stretch of baseball. LSU sits 17-10 in SEC play. The Tigers hope that's enough to earn a National Seed, but LSU needs to avoid catastrophe vs. a South Carolina team just 5-22 in conference play. Florida is feeling good after taking a series from Texas. The Gators struggled out of the gate when conference play began, but have since turned the season around. Florida has to be seen as a contender as the postseason approaches. Can LSU baseball win the regular season title? The most LSU can do at this point is finish tied for the SEC Regular Season Championship. LSU is three games behind Texas. LSU needs to sweep South Carolina while needing Texas to drop all three games vs. Oklahoma. The Sooners are good, but probably not good enough to sweep Texas. LSU fans shouldn't hold their breath, but the Tigers will get a chance to make a statement in the SEC Tournament. Who will get the double-byes in the SEC Tournament? The top four teams in the standings earn double-byes in the SEC Tournament. Texas and Arkansas are both in great spots. LSU should be feeling good, too. A handful of teams have a chance to earn the final two-round bye. Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Auburn all sit there at 16-11. The Dawgs get a three-game series at home vs. Texas A&M. If UGA can take advantage of a struggling Aggies squad, Georgia could end up with that final bye.
USA Today
20-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn players discuss the start of the NCAA Tournament
Auburn players discuss the start of the NCAA Tournament Auburn has put its recent downward trend behind them and are now focused on the NCAA Tournament. Winning the SEC Regular Season Championship and getting the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament are great accomplishments. With that said, the Auburn Tigers know this team will be judged on what they do in March. After losing three of four games, there needs to be a sense of urgency for Auburn. Johni Broome, Denver Jones, and Chad Baker-Mazara all spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's tournament action. Jones says that he is ready to hit the court. 'I feel like we are more motivated now as far as taking it one game at a time, and obviously we are trying to win that game and get to Sunday -- Saturday, sorry about that,' Jones said. Jones added more when asked about being the number one seed despite losing in the SEC Tournament semifinals. 'I just know that when we ended up losing the SEC tournament, we ended up losing three of our last four games, I feel like we're just a little extra motivated going into March Madness,' Jones said. Auburn has not made it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the 2019 Final Four run. The 2022 team led by Jabari Smith was upset by No. 10 seed Miami in the second round, and last year was upset by No. 13 seed Yale. The positive of losing on Saturday to the Volunteers was that it gave the Tigers some extra preparation time. 'Practice has been a little bit ramped up. We had an extra day of rest because we didn't play on Sunday. So we got to work on ourselves and just trying to find our identity again', Broome said. Auburn knows what can happen in March. 'This tournament is March, so anybody can really beat anybody if you don't come focused and locked in and take people for granted,' Baker-Mazara said. 'So we gotta make sure we come in tomorrow and take care of our business.' Alabama State is a guard-heavy team led by CJ Hines and Amarr Knox both averaging a little over 14 points per game. The Tigers have struggled with rebounding when met with physical teams that have size. Auburn should win by a large margin, but the focus needs to be there to not take these Hornets lightly. The game will be televised by CBS and has an approximate tip-off time of 1:50 p.m. CT.
USA Today
18-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Stephen A. Smith calls out Auburn basketball ahead of March Madness
Stephen A. Smith calls out Auburn basketball ahead of March Madness The Auburn Tigers struggles down the stretch of the basketball season have not gone unnoticed. The discourse around Bruce Pearl's team has largely centered around the fact it has lost three of four games heading into the NCAA Tournament, something no National Champion has ever done before. Auburn's resume earned it the No. 1 overall seed this March, but its recent lack of success have caused many to not only question the Tigers validity as the top seed in the tournament, but even as the top team in the conference. One of the doubters, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, voiced his frustrations to Bruce Pearl and company on his program, 'First Take', this week. Speaking directly into the camera, Smith said "I'm a huge fan of Bruce Pearl [but] you lose three of the last four games coming into the tournament. I mean what the hell is going on? [Auburn] got bounced out last year in the first round, ya'll supposed to have attitude.... Auburn what's up? Are you going home early again is that what ya'll going to do? Step your game up and handle your business, ya'll better than that... okay!" The longtime anchor's frustration shares the sentiment of many members of the Auburn family, who feel as if the team may have lost a step since winning the SEC Regular Season Championship. Even with the rough stretch of play, Bruce Pearl's Tigers still own 16 Quadrant 1 victories. It still has one of two unanimous AP First Team All-American players in Johni Broome, and it still possess a quartet of fantastic guards. Auburn is better than what it has shown recently, but it remains to be seen if the Tigers can "step up their game and handle business" in March. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
