Illinois State loses to ‘NCAA Tournament-caliber’ Auburn in NIT semifinals: ‘What we’re building is special’
By Sean Hammond
Published on April 3, 2026.
Illinois State lost 88-66 to Auburn in the NIT semifinals, despite being a No. 4 seed in the 32-team tournament. Auburn, now led by former coach Bruce Pearl’s son Steven Pearl, will play against Tulsa in Sunday's NIT title game. Coach Ryan Pedon praised Auburn's performance as a "NCAA Tournament-caliber team". The loss marks a difficult end to a season for Illinois State, which entered the season as the Missouri Valley preseason favorites and ended up finishing third in the conference and exiting the MVC Tournament in the quarterfinals. This was the first time the Redbirds had played in a major basketball game in April since 1899.
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