NCAA Basketball: 5 best value bets to make 2021-22 Final Four weekend
By Ian Mumm
3. Auburn Tigers +1500
2021 was a major setback for Auburn finishing with a 13-14 record and losing key players even before the season began. Even with the return of touted 5-star point guard Sharife Cooper, the Tigers couldn’t get the engine running long enough to truly warm up. It was a year to grow and develop the pieces currently on the team. Bruce Pearl’s group certainly showed that, but it just wasn’t consistent enough to produce results in the end.
During the offseason, Pearl showed no give and landed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. For the 3rd class in a row, Auburn signed a 5-star prospect and reignited optimism heading into the season. Forward Jabari Smith is certainly doing that for fans and national media alike, but it was the added additions of former 5-star center Walker Kessler (UNC), KD Johnson (Georgia), Zep Jasper (College of Charleston), and Wendell Green Jr. (Eastern Kentucky) increasing the buzz around the program.
Losing Cooper, JT Thor, and Justin Powell from last year’s team, as well as Allen Flanigan to a preseason injury this season, have created big shoes to fill. Pearl’s success in landing a trio of experienced and productive guards in their place creates a stopgap for the 2022 season to still hold promise. Where they have room for error is the undeniable talent and priority on this year’s team is in the frontcourt with Smith and Kessler.
The Tigers lost six conference games in 2021 by five points or less with the 253rd ranked defense in the nation. The Kessler-Smith duo will alter the narrative for Auburn this season not only in the sense of an improved frontcourt but also in deploying an offensively dangerous pairing with equal defensive traits to maintain their advantage on the court. Last year’s frontcourt was by no means a defensive “weak spot,” but the Dylan Cardwell and Babatunde Akingbola were limited in minutes because they weren’t uber-reliable offensive weapons for Pearl to utilize.
The presence of the Kessler-Smith pairing will drastically take the pressure off Auburn’s backcourt group and allow them to play more freely and in rhythm. Even with programs like Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas favored to challenge for the conference title, the Tigers will be a sneaky play in the national landscape to run teams down much in the way the 2019-20 team did after losing Jared Harper, Bryce Brown, and Chuma Okeke.