Auburn announces self-imposed 2020-21 postseason ban

Auburn's men's basketball program announced Sunday it will forgo postseason competition this season.

The self-imposed ban comes in the wake of Auburn's role in the 2017 NCAA basketball scandal, which included an FBI investigation into former assistant coach Chuck Person.

"This was a difficult decision but the right decision. I hate it for our current players," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They lost the opportunity for the postseason last year because of COVID, and now they will miss the postseason again. It's a two-year postseason penalty for them. However, we need to take this penalty now to put it behind us."

The Tigers lost all five starters from last season to graduation or the NBA, and most project this season's squad to finish in the bottom half of the SEC.