Coming off a convincing 78-50 win over Kentucky on Thursday night, Auburn women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris was asked a forward-looking question about whether she and her team were looking into the month of March with their eyes looking towards an NCAA Tournament berth.

Instead of tiptoeing around the question for the sake of avoiding voodoo, jinx or whatever other superstitious term one might use, Harris answered the question with conviction.

“Yes, we are talking about the NCAA Tournament,” Harris said. “We know we’ve got work to do and we are taking it one game at a time, but we are definitely talking about that.”

And for Auburn’s women’s basketball program, it’s been a bit since those conversations have circulated around the locker room as the Tigers’ last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2019 and ended with a first-round exit to BYU.

But with Thursday’s win over Kentucky, Auburn matched last season’s win total of 16 games, as well as last season’s number of SEC wins at five. And while Harris admits she thought the Tigers would reach those marks earlier this season, she adds that it does feel good knowing they’ve still got five regular season games and the SEC Tournament to improve on last season’s marks.

“We made some mistakes tonight that we’ll go back and correct and we know we’re not going to be able to make going forward,” Harris said. “So we’ll get that fixed and move on. We’ll take it one ball game at a time”

As it currently sits, ESPN’s women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme lists Auburn as one of the last four teams to weasel its way into the NCAA Tournament, joining Maryland, Michigan and Vanderbilt on the bubble.

Some of Auburn’s bigger wins this season have come against Washington State and LSU — two teams that are expected to be locks for the tournament.

“It’s been tough, but with this team, it’s been fun. It’s been fun building it,” Harris said. “This team coming in a lot of new pieces but they’re hungry. They’re a team that’s eager to learn, they’re very coachable, they want to win.”

Sitting on the cusp means the Tigers’ margin for error is low and more than one or two slip-ups could prove detrimental to their tournament bid.

Left on Auburn’s regular season slate are trips to Alabama, LSU and Florida — two teams of which the Tigers have previously beaten from inside the comfort of Neville Arena in Alabama and LSU. The Tigers also still have a pair of home games left on their schedule in Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

“We know each game we have left is critical,” Harris said. “But we’re right there and we have a chance. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in this position to have a chance at the NCAA tournament. I know they feel it. I know they’re hungry for it and they’re going to do everything they can to win one ball game at a time.”