Auburn has believed for months that it's among the nation's best teams.

Now the nation has no choice but to take notice.

The Tigers played one of their best games of the season against Kansas Saturday night. A nearly perfect first half yielded a 26-point halftime lead and Auburn cruised from there — earning its first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since the 2003 season.

Auburn beat Kansas, 89-75.

Bryce Brown led the way with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting including a 7-of-11 performance from long range. Point guard Jared Harper added 18 points and six assists.

Auburn was at its very best throughout the first half. Brown connected on each of his first four shots from long range while point guard Jared Harper had little trouble darting his way though Kansas' mediocre transition defense.

The Tigers needed less than five minutes to build a double-digit lead. Brown hit a three-point shot at the 6:02 mark to bump his team's lead to 40-20. The Jayhawks kept trying to get the ball into power forward Dedric Lawson near the rim, but Auburn's defense plan to front him worked like a charm.

That job most frequently fell to Anfernee McLemore, who played his best game of the season. The center was able to limit Lawson's touches while also grabbing five first-half rebounds. He grabbed three rebounds during the entirety of the SEC Tournament.

Auburn finished the first half with 26 fast-break points. Kansas had zero.

The second half followed a slightly different script. The Tigers struggled to create turnovers and deflections, which slowed the game's pace and turned it into a half-court situation more often than not. Auburn wasn't as effective in those scenarios, but went 8-of-12 from two-point range to keep the scoring effort afloat.

The Tigers will play either Washington or North Carolina on Friday in Kansas City.