7. Auburn Tigers
Last Week: No. 7
No movement from Auburn this week after dominating St. Peter’s by 50 points in their only matchup. The Tigers have performed about to expectations so far this year with a few strong wins (over Washington, Xavier, and Arizona) and a loss to Duke at the Maui Invitational. Having said this, Auburn definitely belongs in the top-10 right now and they should stay here for the long haul considering their only major non-conference test left will come on the road against NC State on Dec. 19.
To this point, head coach Bruce Pearl has done a superb job as the leader of this program and the Tigers should compete near the top of the SEC this season. As of now, they are my favorite to win the conference title and that would be a major achievement considering how deep the league is this year. But these high hopes are about far more than just the coaching on the sideline. After all, players win games.
In terms of leaders on the court, there might not be a better point guard in the nation than Jared Harper. An elite playmaker with plenty of guts to take big shots, Harper is one of the driving forces of this team. He is currently averaging 14.6 points and 7.0 assists per game. Add in the high-scoring abilities of Bryce Brown (17.3 points) and incredible depth in the frontcourt and it is easy to see why the Tigers are so hyped up.