Elsewhere in the South Region, a First Four meeting between No. 11 seeds North Carolina and San Diego State will create a difficult first-round matchup for No. 6 seed Ole Miss, which is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 under second-year coach Chris Beard.

The South Region in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament is a fascinating one. While not as deep as the West, it features the number one overall seed in Auburn, and a plethora of teams who are as capable of making a deep run as they are of crashing out early.