Good morning. Auburn women's basketball begins the postseason this week in Greenville, South Carolina, for the 2024 SEC Tournament. The Tigers (19-10, 8-8) look to continue their strong late-season play as they enter the tournament on a three-game winning streak.
 
Auburn, seeded seventh, will face 10-seed Arkansas in the second round this evening at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
 
The last four contests between Auburn and Arkansas have been decided by three points or fewer, so this is one to put on your radar.

What else can you find mixed into today’s Brew?

🏀 Chris Moore talks about the brotherhood he’s had playing hoops @ Auburn
🌊 8 Tigers punched tix to the 2024 NCAA Swimming + Diving Championships
🐅 And much, much more!

📹 WAREAGLE+ FACE-TO-FACE

Face-to-Face with Will Redmond
GM of Player Personnel Will Redmond goes Face-to-Face with Jeff Shearer for an exclusive interview for WarEagle+.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Air Force, Down. Behind three more homers at the plate—a pair of homers from Deric Fabian and a two-run shot from Cooper Weiss—and another strong midweek effort on the mound, No. 13 Auburn defeated Air Force 8-4 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs Wednesday afternoon at Plainsman Park.
 
"Anytime we get to play one of these academies, it's a big deal because they give us the right to go out and play baseball and have these experiences we get to have at Auburn," head coach Butch Thompson said.

🔼 He Wanted Moore. “It felt like a home away from home,” said Chris Moore, the Arkansas Player of the Year in 2020 at West Memphis High School who signed with Auburn seven months after the Tigers advanced to the Final Four in 2019. Moore had visited Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Memphis and Arkansas, among others, while deciding which program was the right fit. “The family environment is something special here at Auburn.

“I’ve always been a loyal man,” said Moore, who turned down offers in high school to play his senior season at top prep schools, preferring to win a state championship for his hometown team. “My family has always preached to me, if somebody’s loyal to you, you’ve got to be loyal to them, no matter what.”

Read the feature on Chris Moore to learn about the brotherhood he’s found at Auburn.

🔼 One Giant Shot For Womankind. No. 12 Women's golf secured a third-place team finish, two strokes behind champion Arizona State, with a 54-hole total of 857 (+5) at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. The Tigers finished ahead of No. 1 Wake Forest by eight shots, No. 4 LSU by seven and host school No. 5 South Carolina by one. Auburn defeated five schools in the nation's top 10 and was the best of the nine Southeastern Conference schools in the field, improving its head-to-head record against conference opponents to 25-6 this season.

Auburn redshirt sophomore Casey Weidenfeld and freshman Anna Davis each earned top-10 individual honors in the event, finishing sixth and tied for ninth, respectively.

🔼 Born to Run. Freshman Kanyinsola Ajayi of the Auburn track & field team was selected as the 2024 SEC Men's Indoor Track & Field Freshman Runner of the Year, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.

After a successful showing at the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Ajayi was named to the All-SEC First Team. With a time of 6.60 in the men's 60m dash, Ajayi became the third Auburn man to win gold in the event in the last four years. He was the first freshman to finish first at SEC Indoors since Sajay Ayre won the 400m dash 24 years ago. 

🔼 Top-Rate Eight. Eight Tigers have earned their way into the 2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which will be held March 20-23 in Athens, Georgia.

For head coach Ryan Wochomurka, the eight qualifiers match the number from a season ago when Auburn finished 26^th (14 points) in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the 2023 NCAA Championships—its highest finish since 2019. Head diving coach John Fox will look to add to the list of Tigers competing at the Championships. The Zone B Diving Qualifier (also in Athens, GA) is set to begin on Sunday, March 10, with the women's 1-meter competition.

Read the article to find out who managed this impressive feat.

🔼 Playing the Long Game. For the second consecutive week and the sixth time this season, Auburn men's golfer Jackson Koivun has been named one of the Southeastern Conference's top players of the week. It comes on the heels of his fourth consecutive finish inside the top five at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate earlier in the week.
 
It is Koivun's third nod as SEC Freshman of the Week. He has also won SEC Golfer of the Week three times.

🔼 Nix Outside the Norm. In a turbulent profession where turnover is the norm, Derrick Nix’s 16-year coaching stint at Ole Miss was the exception.

Through four head coaches, including Auburn’s Hugh Freeze, Nix rolled with the Rebels from 2008-23. That changed in January when Freeze and Nix reunited on the Plains, with Derrick becoming Auburn’s offensive coordinator.

“An opportunity to come to Auburn University with a rich tradition, the history, national championships, Heisman Trophy winners,” Nix said. “Getting back with Coach Freeze, I worked with him at Ole Miss for five years, and ultimately getting the chance to advance in my career. It was a no-brainer.”

Read the feature on Coach Nix.

🔼  The Chaney of Command. In a continuing effort to recognize student-athletes' accomplishments beyond the field of competition, the SEC once again highlighted a Community Service Team for men's basketball for the 2023-24 season. This marks the 26th year for the SEC Community Service Team for men's and women's basketball.
 
Auburn men's basketball junior forward Chaney Johnson, a transfer from NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville, has embraced serving others and those less fortunate in his new community. He views community service as a chance to serve as a role model and big brother to youth in the area – a beacon of light, showing them that "You can always achieve what you set your mind to."

 🤔 TIGER TRIVIA

🐅 ONE BIG THING

Your Fall Football Appetizer. Auburn Football’s spring game is less than a month away—a perfect way to preview what’s to come for those who don’t like to wait (read: all of us).

📬 SPREAD THE WORD

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📅 THE WEEK AHEAD

Thursday 3/7

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ SEC Tournament @ 8 p.m. CT | Live Stats

Friday 3/8

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ SEC Tournament @ 8 p.m. CT | Live Stats

👟 Cross Country/Track @ NCAA Indoor Championships

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Missouri @ 3 p.m. CT

🐎 Equestrian vs. College of Charleston @ 3 p.m. CT

🥎 Softball @ Missouri @ 4 p.m. CT

🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Tennessee @ 4 p.m. CT | Live Stats

🤸🏼‍♂️ Gymnastics vs. LSU @ 6 p.m. CT @ 2024 Podium Challenge

🤸🏼‍♂️ Gymnastics vs. George Washington @ 6 p.m. CT @ 2024 Podium Challenge

🤸🏼‍♂️ Gymnastics vs. Texas Woman’s @ 6 p.m. CT @ 2024 Podium Challenge

⚾️ Baseball vs. Austin Peay @ 6 p.m. CT SEC Network | Live Stats | Tickets 

Saturday 3/9

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ SEC Tournament @ 8 p.m. CT | Live Stats

👟 Cross Country/Track @ NCAA Indoor Championships

🏌️‍♀️ Women’s Golf @ Valspar Invitational

🐎 Equestrian vs. Texas A&M @ 11 a.m. CT

⚾️ Baseball vs. Austin Peay @ 1 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Tickets

🥎 Softball @ Missouri @ 2 p.m. CT

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Georgia 5:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets

Sunday 3/10

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ SEC Tournament @ 8 p.m. CT | Live Stats

🌊 Swimming & Diving - NCAA Zones Diving Qualifier

🏌️‍♀️ Women’s Golf @ Valspar Invitational

🥎 Softball @ Missouri @ 12 p.m. CT

🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Georgia @ 12 p.m. CT | Live Stats

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Arkansas @ 12 p.m. CT | Live Stats

⚾️ Baseball vs. Austin Peay @ 1 p.m. CT SEC Network+ | Live Stats | Tickets 

🐅 Click here to view the entire Auburn Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Coach Nix played football at Southern Miss.

Nix made Southern Miss history by becoming the program’s only player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three seasons before an illness ended his playing career and began his coaching career.

“The next best thing to me to get that thrill, to get that excitement, to get charged up was being a football coach,” he said. “The ability to help mold young men, 18 to 22-year-olds, and relate to them and share my experiences with them to help them be the best version of what they can be is what drives me now.”

🐅 Have a great Thursday, y’all