Life on the bubble is hard.

Just ask Auburn Tigers head women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris — it’s exhausting.

“Some people are saying you’re in, some people are saying we’re still on the bubble, some people are saying we’re in the playoff game,” Harris said during a press conference conducted over Zoom Tuesday as she and the Tigers had already arrived in Greenville, S.C. for the SEC Tournament.

For weeks, the Tigers have been living on the bubble with most analysts and bracketologists calling Auburn one of the last teams to squeak their way into the NCAA’s 68-team tournament.

A tournament berth would be Auburn’s first since 2019 and the first for Harris as a head coach.

And while Harris believes Auburn’s resume is already worthy of a ticket to the Big Dance, she recognizes that it’s not up to her.

“You never know until your name is called. You can think you’re in and then your name is not called,” Harris said, referring to the NCAA’s Selection Sunday, which is set for March 17.

Fortunately, Harris also knows the fix to it all is pretty cut-and-dry.

“I did tell our team, if you keep winning then you take the ‘ifs’ out. So win the ball game and get off the bubble,” Harris said. “That was my message going into Florida.”

The Tigers went on to survive their visit to a Florida with a 77-74 win to close out the regular season. And it was that win that elevated Auburn from one of ESPN’s women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme’s last four teams to make the tournament to one of the last four teams to earn a first-round bye.

But like Harris said, you can never be too sure. And fortunately for she and the Tigers, additional opportunities to add to their resume are just around the bend as they’re set to compete in the SEC women’s basketball tournament this week.

After finishing the regular season with an even 8-8 conference record, Auburn found itself squarely in the middle of the pack with a No. 7 seed for the SEC Tournament and first drew 10th-seeded Arkansas — a team the Tigers saw back on Feb. 4.

In Auburn’s regular season visit to Arkansas, the Tigers were topped by the Razorbacks 74-72 in a game that saw Arkansas’ freshman guard Taliah Scott get hot from the 3-point line.

“I thought we made some mistakes. We made some defensive mistakes against those 3-point shooters and guarding the high-ball screen,” Harris said when asked about the loss. “But I felt that we got a lot better at that. I feel like we’re a lot better than we were then. When we played that ball game, I felt we were building.”

Since that two-point loss in Fayetteville, Auburn is 5-2 with losses to second-seeded LSU and fourth-seeded Alabama — two teams the Tigers beat earlier in the season.

Auburn went on to close out its regular season win three straight wins, which is the first three-game win streak the Tigers have tallied in SEC play all season.

“I think that was really important for us to finish strong, especially coming into the tournament,” Harris said. “It’s been a minute since Auburn’s won a tournament game. We definitely want to come in with some momentum. And I feel like we did that. I feel like our kids are motivated and our kids are hungry to come down here and have a good showing.”

When the Tigers play the Razorbacks Thursday night, they’ll be looking for their first SEC Tournament win since 2020 season.

Also hanging in the balance for Auburn on Thursday night is the opportunity to tally 20 wins for the first time since 2019, build a four-game win streak against conference opponents for the first time since 2016 and end a seven-game losing streak against Arkansas.

And Harris believes her team is in a good spot to accomplish it all.

“I do believe we are peaking at the right time. We are peaking and it’s at the right time,” Harris said. “I mean, we still have work to do, I still think this team can get better, but I like the trajectory that we’re on.”

Auburn (19-10, 8-8 SEC) and Arkansas (18-13, 6-10 SEC) are set to tipoff on Thursday night at 5 p.m. from Greenville’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena in a game that’ll be televised on SEC Network.