Miami guard Isaiah Wong shoots against Auburn during the first half of a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, March 20.

It was a short and disappointing run for the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2022 March Madness NCAA men’s basketball tournament, after the Tigers were eliminated from contention in the Round of 32 by the Miami Hurricanes and the Tide were eliminated in the Round of 64 by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Auburn

After an impressive showing in the Round of 64 against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, where they were victorious by a final score of 80 to 61, where Jabari Smith arguably made the top play of the tournament so far, the Tigers came out flat against a motivated and experienced Hurricanes team.

Miami would go on to beat Auburn by a final score of 79 to 61, in a game that was only separated by one point at halftime.

The Hurricanes outscored the Tigers in the second half 46 to 29.

Walker Kessler, whose stock has risen all season after an impressive showing on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, was virtually non-existent in the game, basically being played off the floor. He only logged 13 minutes, with two points, two rebounds, two blocks and an 0-6 shooting day.

Jabari Smith, presumably the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, who did make some electric plays throughout the game, had 10 points on a 3-16 shooting day.

For a team that rose to the No. 1 rankings in the polls this season, who looked like one of the best teams in the country until late, now exits the tournament sooner than expected.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide did not fair any better in the NCAA men’s tournament, losing in the Round of 64 to a Notre Dame team that was coming off a two-overtime game two nights before.

Cormac Ryan, who averaged single-digits in the regular season for the Fighting Irish, more than tripled his output in a game where he cooked the Tide to the tune of 29 points on 7-9 three point shooting. He also added six rebounds.

In a season where the Tide were the defending SEC regular season and tournament champions, where they had players such as Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly returning, where they added a star recruit in J.D. Davison and where they defeated the likes of Gonzaga, Baylor and Houston – all Final Four teams from the previous season – the ceiling for this team was believed to be limitless.

Now, they are souring over a disappointing performance in both the SEC tournament (losing their first game to Vanderbilt) and the NCAA tournament (losing their first game to ND).

Losing leadership from Herbert Jones, John Petty and Alex Reese ended up having a larger impact than at first realized.

Now, the Tide, one season removed from a Sweet 16 appearance, must figure out their next steps after an early NCAA tournament exit in a season that was once filled with promise.

Alabama just wasn’t the same team following December.