Auburn men’s basketball was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s annual top 16 preview Saturday morning.

That selection would put Auburn in the south region, meaning potential Sweet Sixteen and Elight Eight games would be played close to home in Atlanta.

The placement comes as little surprise given Auburn’s spot atop the AP poll rankings, NCAA NET rankings and KenPom’s efficiency ratings.

Bubba Cunningham, the NCAA Tournament selection committee chair, called the selection “a unanimous choice,” when speaking to the CBS panel on the preview show.

Selection Sunday is still over a month away, and Auburn will have to finish the regular season and SEC Tournament strong to hold onto the No. 1 spot.

That starts with a highly anticipated matchup against Alabama Saturday, a game between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the AP poll. Tipoff for the game is set for 3 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m