NCAA Basketball: Alabama, Duke, Marquette rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
3. Auburn (3-0)
The story on Auburn hasn’t changed much in the last week, but it’s still an impressive tale in the early stages of this season. Bruce Pearl’s squad won at Houston in the opening weekend of the season and that win will do wonders throughout the entire season. For now, it has them still as a Top 5 team and with the talent to stay that way in the immediate future.
It’s been relatively easygoing for the Tigers since that big upset, as this past week’s only contest came on Monday against North Alabama. Auburn won 102-69, hitting triple digits on offense for the first time all season. There’s plenty to love about this roster but Johni Broome continues to prove why he’s a likely All-American, with 30 points and 17 rebounds in another dominant performance.
Thanks mostly to Broome and his contributions, the Tigers possess one of the best interior offenses in the nation, even making a majority of their shots inside the arc against that talented Houston defense a few weeks ago. You cannot say that these Tigers haven’t been tested, but they’re up for a major challenge next week. Auburn heads to the Maui Invitational where the first matchup is a massively-talented Iowa State squad.