NCAA Basketball: North Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
10. Auburn (24-7)
There’s a lot to be excited about for Auburn as they hit the postseason. The Tigers did have a few missteps early in the season, but have looked strong throughout SEC play. They didn’t necessarily win all the games they wanted, even with big wins over Alabama and South Carolina back in February. At the very least, they ended the regular season on a nice little spurt.
There wasn’t much challenge in this final week, starting with a 101-74 road win at Missouri on Tuesday night. Auburn used a strong second half to take care of the SEC’s worst team, getting 17 points and 8 rebounds from Johni Broome. Their final home game came Saturday and wasn’t too challenging, with Auburn prevailing 92-78 over Georgia. Denver Jones led the charge with 21 points with Broome added 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Poor shooting nights doomed Auburn against some of the stronger teams in the SEC, especially away from home, but this offense has proven that they can hang with anyone when the shots are going in. Will that be the case in the SEC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament after that? Whatever happens it’s going to be interesting to watch Bruce Pearl and this squad in the days and weeks ahead.