Tampa subregional

Ellis: Tigers have earned the berth

Comments made by TV analysts Dick Vitale and Digger Phelps that Auburn doesn't belong in the tournament haven't sat well with Tigers coach Cliff Ellis.

"(Vitale) needs to do his homework," Ellis told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "Our schedule is the fourth (strongest) in our conference. Dick and I go way back. We don't agree on everything. He's just wrong with his facts."

Auburn's regular-season schedule is ranked 27th nationally by collegerpi.com.

Texas Tech (18-12), one of the schools Vitale claimed should have gotten a bid over Auburn (20-11), had the 25th toughest schedule but a worse RPI by 12 spots. Only 14 teams in the field had a better strength of schedule than the Tigers.

On the flip side, Auburn is 4-8 (.333) against the eight teams it played that reached the tournament. The Tigers had wins against Alabama, LSU, South Carolina State and Troy State.

PHILLY FANATICS: Hawks coach Phil Martelli and assistant Mark Bass visited the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday morning at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. Martelli is friends with manager Larry Bowa. Saint Joseph's later practiced at Jesuit High.

NO O, BIG D: Auburn junior Kyle Davis, a 6-foot-10 center, has a not-so-noteworthy 5.7 career scoring average. But he set the school's career blocks record in February. Davis has 276 blocks (13 in one game), fourth all-time in the SEC . Former LSU standout Shaquille O'Neal is the SEC career leader with 412 from 1990-92.

HOMECOMING: Ellis grew up in the Panhandle, attended Florida State and coached high school teams in Niceville and Ocala. He has family and friends living in the Tampa Bay area.

"Florida's my home state," Ellis said. "I have wonderful memories. It's a good area. There are great golf courses, great fishing and great people. Tremendous relationships were developed in my younger years."

ODDS AND ENDS: Martelli said junior Tyrone Barley, considered the team's top defender, will start if injured guard Delonte West (17.6 points average) doesn't. West has a stress fracture in his right leg but has practiced this week. ... Auburn has won six straight opening-round games. The only first-rounder the Tigers lost was in their tournament debut against 12th-seeded Richmond, 72-71, in 1984. ... Auburn has won more than 20 games four times in its 97 years. The Tigers win total this season is tied for fifth most in school history. ... This is the 17th NCAA appearance for Saint Joseph's, the second in the past three years. The Hawks are 15-19 in the tournament since first appearing in 1959. Their only other at-large berth came in 2001, when they reached the second round.

Auburn Quotebook

Coach Cliff Ellis on the threat of war:

"That's not going to affect our preparation. We are playing a basketball game. What is going on over there is the real deal. Everybody, regardless of who you are or what the circumstances are, will have their mind on what is going on with the servicemen and women throughout the country. The reason we can play college basketball in America is democracy, and that is what we are fighting for."

Guard Lewis Monroe on getting an NCAA Tournament bid:

"It's very important. We have a big sophomore class, so getting experience now will help us out down the line. We will be losing some key players, but we will make up for it with our experience."

Neal McCready, Mobile Register:

"Many critics believed this would be the week that Auburn played one or two games in the National Invitation Tournament and then embarked on a search to replace head coach Cliff Ellis. Those critics apparently didn't know Ellis. If the former South Alabama and Clemson coach is anything, he's a survivor."

Saint Joseph's Quotebook

Coach Phil Martelli on Auburn's style:

"They like to pound the ball into the lane and they play with a physical nature, so it's important that we get pressure on the ball on the perimeter and make it hard for them to get the ball down low. We can't let this become a slow-motion game."

Dan Dunkin, Calkins Media:

"Last year's Hawks underachieved because they didn't dig in defensively and didn't trust each other offensively. These Hawks were dynamite defensively, leading the nation in field-goal defense (.363). They also featured one of the nation's most dynamic backcourts -- brilliant junior point guard Jameer Nelson, orchestrator of 68 wins in three years, and sophomore sensation Delonte West."

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