NCAA Basketball: Arizona, Iowa State, Houston rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
12. Auburn (19-5)
A few challenges have come up this season for Auburn, but Bruce Pearl and company don’t have too many reasons to be upset. The Tigers have been particularly strong on offense at times but have had some great defensive efforts as well this season. They used an 11-game winning streak back in December and January to put themselves in this position and are coming off quite the week.
It’s a week that started in impressive fashion, as the Tigers got a 99-81 win over rival Alabama, avenging a loss from two weeks earlier. Jaylin Williams had 26 points and 6 rebounds while Johni Broome added 24 points and 7 rebounds. Things were considerably worse on Saturday, as Auburn lost 81-65 on the road against Florida. Broome had 14 points and Chaney Johnson nearly had a double-double, but the Gators controlled the game from the beginning.
Not too much changes about how we see Auburn as a result of this up and down week. They proved they can hang with anyone with their efforts against the Crimson Tide and the trouble at Florida just showed that they aren’t perfect. The Tigers still have just five losses and are a remarkable 8-3 in SEC play. They’ll stick at home this week but have significant opposition coming to town: South Carolina on Wednesday and Kentucky on Saturday.