NCAA Basketball: UConn, North Carolina, Wisconsin rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
12. Auburn (14-2)
Since Bruce Pearl was brought into the program, Auburn has been much more successful as a basketball school and that success continues this season. It hasn’t always been perfect, as the Tigers own blemishes against Baylor and Appalachian State already this season, but it’s been very solid more often than not. The resume isn’t covered in notable wins but that’s what makes SEC play even more important.
It’s been a solid start for Auburn, who got a 66-55 win against Texas A&M back on Tuesday. Jaylin Williams led the charge with 22 points and 8 rebounds while K. D. Johnson added 14 off the bench. Another home win followed over the weekend, with the Tigers prevailing 93-78 over LSU. Chad Baker-Mazara was great with 19 off the bench while Johni Broome added 18 points and 7 rebounds in the Tigers’ ninth consecutive win.
It’s an impressive record that Auburn boasts and the metrics love what this team has done through the first few months. They won a number of games at neutral sites during nonconference play, but have won just a single true road game to this point in the season. That’ll be the challenge for this talented Auburn squad because these SEC road tests will show us a lot. Next week the test is Vanderbilt, which is likely the easiest to pass.