MINNEAPOLIS — Auburn's first Final Four in program history is here.

The Tigers (30-9) will take on the only No. 1 seed left in the tournament. It's a fitting Final Four matchup for an Auburn team that had to beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky in back-to-back-to-back games to get here. Virginia (33-3) has overcome its own adversity after last season becoming the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed.

The styles of Auburn and Virginia — especially offensively — couldn't be much more different.

Here are the five storylines to follow heading into the Final Four. Auburn and Virginia will tip-off at 5:09 CT in U.S. Bank Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS.

Auburn got off the plane earlier this week. The Tigers were greeted by a large mass of young people playing instruments for the celebrity arrivals. Auburn players had experienced welcoming parties in Auburn and Montgomery the last few weeks, but the reception the Tigers got in Minneapolis was unexpected.

The Final Four, they could tell, was officially in session.

"It reminded me of being back home for Mardi Gras," J'Von McCormick said, impressed with the fan fare.

The attention hasn't died down for the Tigers this week.

They aren't Virginia or Michigan State. They don't have to experience the bright lights and media frenzy during basketball season often. But it has picked up the last few weeks, reaching its peak this week in Minneapolis.

The Final Four has arrived — and Auburn's players feel it.

"Even the media, it’s just much more people than it was. We knew the experience was going to be much different. But it’s definitely been different. It’s been kinda overwhelming," Samir Doughty said. "We knew it would be like this if we made it this far. We want it to be like this. It just shows we’re having success."

Maybe it hasn't hit everyone. Or even the people who have realized it, maybe there's still more of a sensation to experience.

They practiced on the court Thursday and Friday. On Friday, they did so in front of a crowd that filled one entire lower-level sideline — an attendance that likely rivaled a sold-out Auburn Arena crowd. It's a big stage, but it's possible Auburn doesn't yet comprehend just how bit it is.

"It hasn’t hit me yet. Probably when I step through the lines tomorrow, it might hit me," Danjel Purifoy said. "It’s just been enjoying the process right now. It’s a great feeling."

Auburn watched Virginia film from its Elite Eight win against Purdue.

It was one of the best games in college basketball this season, certainly one of the most electric regulation finishes of the NCAA Tournament.

But when the Tigers watched the tape, something else stood out.

"That was a very slow game," McCormick said.

"They don't like to move fast at all," Anfernee McLemore added.

Those are the types of reactions everyone has come to expect about Virginia. The Cavaliers play at one of the slowest tempos in all of college basketball. In fact, they have the slowest adjusted tempo in all of college basketball when KenPom factors in offensive and defensive approach.

Slow. Methodical. Call it what you want: It's the yin to Auburn's yang.

"I think we definitely have opposite playing styles," Virginia standout Ty Jerome said.

Neither side wants to deviate from its typical style.

Auburn will try to get out and transition and make Virginia run as much as it can. Virginia will go about its offense throughout the shot clock as it's accustomed to doing. Auburn assistant coach Wes Flanigan — who is heading the scout for this game — calls it a "tug-o-war battle" that will ultimately determine the outcome of this game.

"The pace needs to be fast for us. So I think the tale of the game will be who can get it in the pace they want to play basketball at and be comfortable. If we can win that battle, I feel good about this game," Flanigan said. "They want to play at a certain pace. We want to play at a certain pace. That’s going to kinda be a tug-o-war during the course of the game. It doesn’t take us long. We can make a run really quick. They’re a team that’s going to grind you out more, kinda wear you out that way. For us, it’s going to be vital that we try to get them playing at a pace we want them to play at."

The foundation of Virginia's defensive success is its pack-line defense.

That's in Tony Bennett's DNA.

Virginia has been the preeminent defensive program in all of college basketball since Bennett took over the Cavaliers. The pack-line defense is credited for much of that. Pack-line defense has become a catchy way to compliment Virginia basketball, but people often don't comprehend what it actually means.

So, here's Wes Flanigan's thorough description. He's been on the scout for this game.

"It’s built around, just really, protecting the paint, stopping penetration, stopping post play. For them, I think for the most part anytime you throw the ball in the paint or on the block, it’s automatic trap for the most part. Obviously we don’t throw it down there a lot. So we won’t have to deal with that as much," Flanigan said. "The big thing is, they show bodies. It’s usually three bodies guarding the ball. They’re hard in the gaps. For our guards, we’ve gotta be able to drive the ball under control, but still being able to get paint touches. But get it back out to some of our shooters. Sometimes, even get the ball out earlier in penetration than what we normally do because those bodies are sitting right there."

Later, Flanigan added a point that should give Auburn some hope going into this one.

"I do think everything we do offensively kinda is something that kinda hurts that pack-line defense," he said. "If we play well, don’t turn it over and guard them, I think we’ve got a good chance to win."

So what will you see from Auburn offensively?

You'll likely see Jared Harper and J'Von McCormick penetrating the gaps as much as they can. Those two have had plenty of success doing that during this 12-game winning streak. But Virginia is designed to eliminate easy buckets in the paint, so Harper likely won't have his way around the rim as he did in overtime against Kentucky.

When Harper and McCormick get in the paint, they'll be called upon to find open shooter on the wing or in the corner. Those shooters will need to take open shots if they get them, or distribute the ball around the perimeter quickly, something Auburn has done well of late.

"I think we’re going to talk a lot about quick pitches. Again, getting them to help, giving it up early and letting the other guy do the work. It’s going to be a big thing," Flanigan said. "I think our quickness should bother them a little bit."

The Tigers aren't taking this matchup lightly.

Auburn faced one of the best defensive teams in all of college basketball in Kentucky. The Tigers were able to win it in a drag-it-out type of game that didn't play as much to their frenetic style. But that success against Kentucky won't be as translatable given Virginia unique defensive approach.

"This is a very good defensive club. It’s very hard to score against them. We faced a great defensive team in Kentucky. Kentucky is very good defensively. But not many teams are playing pack-line defense," Doughty said. "So no we haven’t faced a team like that. This is going to be a way different game. We can’t expect to bully these guys out. They’ve won 64 of their last 70 games, so it goes to show how great of a team they are."

Auburn received some unwanted news Friday.

Bryce Brown and Jared Harper are sick.

Sickness is all relative, especially this time of year. But there's no denying they, Harper especially, sounded like people who were dealing with poor-timed congestion.

"Just a little bit under the weather. I'm a little sick, but it's not going to stop me from continuing to prepare for this game," Harper said. "This is a big moment for us as a team and us as a program. So I know I'm going to be ready."

Despite all this, Harper and Brown did more media than any other player on Auburn. They took part in their individual breakout session. They went on the podium with Bruce Pearl. They even answered questions when they returned to the open locker room.

Then they went out to the court and participated fully in practice — and did so without sign of fatigue.

"Jared is under the weather. Bryce is also. We've got a bunch of guys that are sniffling and hacking and coughing, but we don't play today. Jared would be -- he would be less than 100 percent if we had to play today. If we played yesterday, Bryce would have been less than 100 percent," Pearl said Friday. "He'll be fine tomorrow."

Auburn needs those two at 100 percent to beat Virginia. Let's see if they get full-health Harper and Brown.

• Virginia is KenPom's No. 1-ranked team in the country. Auburn ranks No. 11, the lowest of the four teams remaining.

• The Cavaliers rank second nationally in offensive efficiency and fifth in defensive efficiency. Auburn sits sixth and 38th in those two categories, respectively.

• Here are all the categories Virginia ranks top-25 in the nation: offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage, opponent effective field goal percentage, turnover percentage on offense, 3-point percentage, opponent 3-point percentage, opponent free-throw percentage, opponent free throws attempted per field goal attempted, opponent 2-point percentage and opponent assists per field goals made. That's a lot of categories to be elite in.

• Virginia only has seven players who play more than 22 percent of the team's minutes. Auburn has eight, with Purifoy just missing the cut-off.

• Virginia gets 48.2 percent of its points from 2-point range and 35.4 percent of its points from 3-point range. By comparison, Auburn is 39.8 percent and 43.4 percent, respectively.

• KenPom predicts Auburn will lose the game 70-64. It gives the Tigers a 30 percent chance to win this Final Four matchup.