NASHVILLE | It had been five long years since an Auburn team sat in the locker room following an SEC Tournament game with a smile on their face. It's hard to believe that fact, but that's a fact.

The annual tourney was canceled after the 2019 championship run due to COVID-19.

In 2021, violations kept Auburn out of the postseason. Even the SEC regular-season champions couldn't come away with a victory in 2022. And last year? Well, Arkansas ran amok on the overachieving Tigers.

So, for many of these veterans who have been around seemingly forever, this was the first time they could celebrate—and stay another day—in the host city. Jaylin Williams, playing in this third of these, mentioned how nice it was not to cost his family and Auburn fans money for nothing.

Yes, the one-and-done "curse," if you can even call it that, considering it was just two years, is over, and Bruce Pearl's squad now has a new realization: expectations.

Heading into the tournament, gambling sites had Tennessee as the leader to hoist the trophy on Sunday, with the Tigers coming in second. With regular-season champ Volunteers bowing out on Friday afternoon, Auburn is likely the betting favorite, if not Kentucky, who plays Friday evening against Texas A&M.

For a team that was picked sixth in the preseason, not ranked, and even recently, was called overvalued by commentators on a certain sports channel, it's a new reality. The target was clearly on the Vols heading into the weekend, and let's be fair, it is always on Kentucky when they are playing as well as they are. But, if there was already one on the Tigers, it grew massively after they dominated South Carolina in a never-close 31-point game.

But before all of the hype of a championship game, Auburn must handle Mississippi State on Saturday. The two teams split the season series, each winning on their respective home floors. The Bulldogs are physical, something the Tigers pride themselves on as well.

"I think we have the best frontcourt in America," Johni Broome said after the game.

That will be tested against Tolu Smith and company, who dominated the glass in the first matchup: a 64-58 Bulldogs win in which they grabbed 14 offensive boards. As for the backcourt, there might not be a more exciting freshman not on a Kentucky roster than Josh Hubbard. He was vital in the upset victory over Tennessee, and Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson will have to be on top of their games.

So, with the matchup decided and 16 hours away from the tip, Auburn must go from the hunters to the hunted. They must take on the role of favorites, something they have not become familiar with for most of the season.

Something tells me Williams, Broome and the rest of these "overvalued" Tigers are up to the task.