NCAA Basketball Takeaways: UNC, Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA all get major wins

9. Auburn’s backcourt issues plague them in a loss to USC

The non-conference campaign for the Tigers hasn’t been all that tough coming into this west coast road trip, with a win over Saint Louis and a loss to Memphis as the notable results. Still, the SEC program has looked far from impressive overall and potentially not worthy of a top-25 ranking.

We won’t have to worry about that now, as Auburn lost on Sunday to USC in Los Angeles, 74-71. The backcourt issues were the problem for the Tigers, as both Wendell Green, who is coming off an injury, and K.D. Johnson off the bench, combined not to make a single shot from the field. An even bigger problem was that no guard could stop Boogie Ellis, who went for a career-high 28 points for the Trojans in the win.

The only player that did well was Johni Broome, who had 16 points and eight rebounds in the game. The Morehead State transfer has been as good as advertised but Yohan Traore, the five-star freshman forward, played just 10 minutes off the bench and has seen his playing time decrease down the stretch.

Auburn’s guard play was a concern last season but there isn’t a Jabari Smith to bail them out offensively. They rank in the bottom 20 in three-point shooting and don’t shoot well from the foul line. Players like Chris Moore and Allen Flanigan have played better as of late but unless Green and Johnson can become more efficient all of a sudden, SEC play could be a rough time for them.