Before Hugh Freeze got up from the table inside the multipurpose room of the Woltosz Football Performance Center on Monday afternoon to hit the practice field as his team reconvened after spring break, he wanted to take a minute to acknowledge two of his colleagues: Bruce Pearl and Johnnie Harris.

Freeze, who was hired at the end of November to help resuscitate Auburn’s football program, offered up congratulations to the Tigers’ men’s and women’s basketball coaches as they prepare to embark on their respective postseason journeys. Harris’ team earned a WNIT bid Sunday night and will host Tulane at Neville Arena on Friday night in the opening round. Pearl’s team, meanwhile, earned its fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last five postseasons, this time as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region.

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Pearl’s Tigers will face eighth-seeded Iowa on Thursday at 5:50 p.m. in Birmingham’s Legacy Arena. The game will air on TNT. Auburn’s at-large bid came after a 20-12 season that saw the Tigers finish 32nd in NET rankings and 29th in KenPom despite going 4-9 in their final 13 games, with two-thirds of those losses decided by five points or fewer.

“Man, they’ve showed a lot of resolve this year,” Freeze said. “I don’t know, man. I’ve got this gut feeling that they might show up and make a run in this thing.”

If Auburn hopes to replicate its last deep run in the tournament — 2019′s Final Four journey — it will begin in its own backyard. Pearl’s team will make the short bus ride up to Birmingham on Tuesday evening, practice at Legacy Arena on Wednesday and then face Iowa on Thursday evening. If the Tigers can get by the Hawkeyes, they’ll likely face a second-round matchup with Houston, the top-seeded team in the Midwest Region and the No. 2 overall seed in this year’s field.

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That game would have a trip to Kansas City and a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. Auburn’s last Sweet 16 appearance four years ago also took place in Kansas City. Before Auburn can even think about looking ahead to the second week of the tournament, it will have to conjure some magic in the Magic City in what could be a pseudo-home environment for Pearl and his team.

“I’m just happy, and I know I’m happy for the Auburn people that it’s in Birmingham,” Freeze said. “Hopefully, more of our people can get there. I text with (Pearl) like every other day, or every gameday for sure, but excited for him, his staff and our players. Also, coach J and the women’s (team) also made it in the WNIT, wish them a lot of luck. Pulling for those guys.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.