Auburn vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane Prediction & Picks - National Invitation Tournament

Prediction published on 4/5/26, 4:30 PM  by Travis Pulver | Modified on 4/17/26 at 9:52 AM in Basketball Picks

The Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (30-7) will take on the Auburn Tigers (21-16) in the NIT Championship Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN, Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST with coverage provided by ESPN2.

Tulsa earned its spot in the title game after defeating New Mexico in the semifinals 74-69. After opening as 3.5-point favorites for the game, the Golden Hurricanes closed as 2.5-point underdogs. Tulsa jumped out to an early lead, which they briefly lost late in the first half, but regained it with an 8-0 run to close the half. New Mexico wasn’t able to regain the lead in the second half. David Green led the way for the Golden Hurricanes on the scoreboard with 13 points.

As for Auburn, the Tigers were not challenged nearly as much in their semifinal matchup vs. Illinois State. They opened as 6.5-point favorites but closed at 7.5. The Redbirds gave the Tigers a pretty good fight to start the game, but Auburn was able to start pulling away late in the first half and led 51-38 at the break. It was more of the same in the second half as the Tigers led by 20+ for most of the period before winning by 22, 88-66. Keyshawn Hall led the way for Auburn with 24 points.