1. Auburn (17-1)
Johni Broome has not been on the court since last weekend’s close call at South Carolina, but the Tigers continue to play basketball at an elite level and prove week after week that they’re the best team in the land. Auburn’s only blemish came at Duke more than six weeks ago and they are truly stockpiling impressive performances one after another. Even without Broome that trend continued this week.
The Tigers took care of business on Tuesday night, beating a ranked Mississippi State squad 88-66 in decisive fashion. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 20 points and Chaney Johnson added 17 points and 8 rebounds, with both players helping balance out Broome’s absence. Auburn survived another scare against another ranked foe on Saturday, winning 70-68 at Georgia to cap off the week. Tahaad Pettiford was the star, scoring 24 points off the bench on a hot-shooting performance.
Even when their biggest piece is down for a few weeks, Auburn still finds ways to put the ball in the basket and to play outstanding on both ends of the court. Winning a pair of ranked games without the player who might be the nation’s best frontcourt weapon is a testament to the job that Bruce Pearl is doing with this program. While it remains to be seen when Broome is back in action, another major challenge looms next weekend as the Tigers welcome Tennessee to town.
Another week of Top 25 rankings is now completed and we’ve taken a pretty good look at the top teams as they currently stand. Many things will change in the coming days and weeks as we near March Madness, but which of these teams will make positive moves?