Johni Broome remembers it well.

He remembers the excitement around Auburn entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and even more so, he remembers the disappointment after a first-round loss to Yale.

“Nobody’s satisfied with how the season ended,” Broome said Tuesday at SEC Basketball Media Day in Birmingham. “Everybody knows that it’s still a sour taste in our mouth. We’re ready to prove otherwise.”

Yale’s upset win ended what many believed would be a deep tournament run by the Tigers. Since that day, Auburn has kept a clear reminder of that disappointment to motivate the team during the offseason.

“We have it on our board: 78-76. We look at it all the time until the season comes up,” Broome said.

It’s a reminder that despite any regular season accomplishments, teams are remembered most by what happens in March Madness.

Auburn won the Southeastern Conference Tournament in 2024, but the game fresher in many people’s minds is the 78-76 shocker against Yale.

“Last year, we didn’t take Yale for granted, but they just played better than us when the time was right,” said Auburn guard Denver Jones. “We know that we have to skill set and the ability to make a run in March. So, I feel like we don’t need to think too much about it, but we just need to play hard and play the best we can.”

Expectations have rarely been higher for the Tigers than they are this season. Auburn was picked to finish second in the SEC and earned a preseason AP Poll ranking of No. 11.

But preseason recognition isn’t what Auburn is after.

“I only got one goal in mind and that’s just win March Madness, win a national championship,” Jones said

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