AUBURN | Auburn will open the 2025 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed in the South Region.

The Tigers will play Alabama State Thursday and then the winner of Louisville-Creighton on Saturday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Below is a closer look at the three teams that join Auburn in the Lexington Regional.

ALABAMA STATE

No. 16 seed

Record: 20-15, 12-6 SWAC (tied for 4th)

NET ranking: 274

Quad 1 wins (0):

Quad 1 losses (3): Cincinnati, SMU, Missouri

Top scorers: Sr. guard C.J. Hines 14.4 ppg, So. guard Amarr Knox 14.3, Sr. guard T.J. Madlock 12.6

Top rebounders: Madlock 7.2 rpg, Sr. guard Micah Octave 5.4

The latest: Coming off a 70-68 win over Saint Francis in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio Tuesday night, ASU will face a quick turnaround to play Auburn Thursday afternoon in Lexington, Ky. The Hornets take good care of the ball, averaging just 8.7 turnovers per game. They also rank in the top 100 nationally averaging 9.0 3-pointers per game.

LOUISVILLE

No. 8 seed

Record: 27-7, 18-2 ACC (tied for 2nd)

NET ranking: 24

Quad 1 wins (4): Clemson twice, Pittsburgh, SMU

Quad 1 losses (6): Duke twice, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Kentucky

Top scorers: Sr. guard Terrence Edwards Jr. 16.6 ppg, Sr. guard Chucky Hepburn 16.2, Sr. guard Reyne Smith 13.4, Sr. guard J’Vonne Hadley 12.1

Top rebounders: Hadley 7.4 rpg, So. forward James Scott 6.3

The latest: The Cardinals are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey. UL was riding an 11-game winning streak before losing to Duke in the ACC title game. Hepburn, a Wisconsin transfer, averages 5.8 assists and earned first-team All-ACC honors. Louisville is No. 10 in the AP poll. If they advance to play Auburn, it’ll be the second-ever top 10 matchup in the opening weekend. Louisville ranks in the top 30 nationally in scoring margin (+9.7), two-point shooting percentage (57.0%) and 3-pointers attempted per game (28.5).

CREIGHTON

No. 9 seed

Record: 24-10, 15-5 (2nd in Big East)

NET ranking: 38

Quad 1 wins (6): UConn twice, Kansas, St. John’s, Villanova, Marquette

Quad 1 losses (6): St. John’s twice, Texas A&M, Alabama, Marquette, Xavier

Top scorers: Sr. center Ryan Kalkbrenner 19.4 ppg, Sr. guard Steven Ashworth 16.3, Sr. guard Jamiya Neal 11.5

Top rebounders: Kalkbrenner 8.8, Neal 6.1

The latest: The Bluejays have advanced to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8 in three of the past four years under 15th-year head coach Greg McDermott. The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner, who is a Naismith Award semifinalist, is shooting 66.3 percent from the floor and averages 2.7 blocks per game. Ashworth is in the top 20 nationally with 103 made 3-pointers and leads the team averaging 6.8 assists per game.

SCHEDULE

First Round — Thursday

No. 8 seed Louisville vs. No. 9 seed Creighton, 11:15 a.m. CT, CBS

No. 1 seed Auburn vs. No. 16 seed Alabama State, 1:50 p.m., CBS

Second Round — Saturday

Louisville/Creighton vs. Auburn/Alabama State, TBA