Auburn Basketball: What is the ceiling for Tigers in 2021-22?
By Matt Melton
Can Auburn Basketball compete for a regular-season title?
First, let’s start with the SEC. Is Auburn an SEC title contender? Yes. If that isn’t clear so far, it should be clear now.
The Tigers have the experience and depth needed to go win games on the road in the SEC, as well as one of the top home environments in college basketball in Auburn Arena. The Tigers will stack up well with any team they play in the SEC, and while other teams may have advantages in some areas, the Tigers will always hold the size advantage down low with the frontcourt duo of Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith……..That brings me to Smith in particular.
A Top 5 overall recruit in the 2021 class entering the season, there are few players who have impressed more so far throughout college basketball than Smith. The freshman forward came into Tuesday averaging an impressive 17.3 PPG and 6.9 RPG and is getting it done from all three levels offensively shooting 44.7% from the field.
Easily the best player on the court in each game that he plays this season, Smith is completely dominating and is quickly becoming one of the top overall prospects in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Transitioning back to the SEC, Auburn you could certainly make an excellent argument right now is among the Top 3-5 teams in the conference, likely behind defending conference champion Alabama, Kentucky, and maybe Tennessee or Arkansas.
While you could certainly make an argument on which of those 3-5 teams is best, that’s an argument for a different day, but the point is clear – Auburn is an SEC title contender, regular season and tournament.