20. Auburn (4-1)
Some alarm bells went off in Auburn on opening night for Steven Pearl’s head coaching debut as the Tigers needed overtime to take care of Bethune Cookman. While many have been wary of the Tigers since that performance, this team has actually stabilized since that dreadful start. After a pair of blowout wins, Auburn entered this past week with a real opportunity to prove something.
Unfortunately, they came up just short, falling 73-72 against top-ranked Houston last Sunday in Birmingham. Keyshawn Hall was impressive with 20 points and 11 rebounds but the Tigers just needed one more shot or play to go their way. After proving they belonged against a top team, Auburn was back in blowout mode on Wednesday, winning 112-66 over Jackson State. KeShawn Murphy had 19 points, Filip Jovic scored 18, and the Tigers made quick work of another lowly mid-major foe.
Ever since opening night, Auburn has been playing at a fantastic level on offense. They don’t have a truly impressive win yet, but are scoring nearly 100 points a game when not playing Houston’s elite defense, and nearly pulled off quite the win against those Cougars this past weekend. Regardless, Auburn really gets that chance to show their mettle at the Players Era Festival, with guaranteed matchups against Oregon and Michigan very soon.