NCAA Basketball: Texas, Virginia soar on top 25 ranking ahead of Thanksgiving
By Joey Loose
18. Auburn (4-0)
The bottom line is that Bruce Pearl’s hiring has completely revolutionized basketball at Auburn, especially when you consider that Final Four run just three and a half years ago. Looking forward, the Tigers have been a constant competitor in a tougher SEC and this year’s team has gotten off to a solid enough start as well, even with major changes in the frontcourt for the Tigers.
They got a third straight win to open the season with an 89-65 win against Winthrop on Tuesday night. Auburn’s best offensive performance of the season saw Johni Broome with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Wendell Green Jr. added 16 points off his own. A few days later, the Tigers got another win at home, with a 72-56 win over Texas Southern. K.D. Johnson led the way with 16 points off the bench, while both Chris Moore and Jaylin Williams had 14-point affairs as Broome missed the contest due to injury.
To this point, the Tigers have done what they’ve needed to do, though the schedule hasn’t exactly been difficult to this point. Moving forward, they’ll hope to get Broome back in this lineup as they get closer to some of those tougher games on the schedule. While their long range shooting still hasn’t exactly been great, they’re at least doing a superior job defending it, allowing just a single 3-pointer to Texas Southern on Friday. Matchups with Bradley and Saint Louis make next week look pretty intriguing, plus whoever else the Tigers end up playing in the Cancun Challenge.