06. Auburn Tigers
2024-25 Record: 32-6 (15-3 SEC)
It wouldn’t be crazy to move Auburn down a spot or two, considering that head coach Bruce Pearl announced his retirement a little over a month before the official start of the season. However, with the roster staying intact and with the new head coach being the previous head coach’s son, I don’t think there will be much deviation from the program's initial plans for the season.
The younger Pearl, Steven, is being left one of the top players in the conference, Tahaad Pettiford (11.6 ppg), and has numerous new transfers that should make his first season leading the Tigers relatively smooth. Clearly, Auburn won’t be quite the juggernaut that it was just a season ago, but that was expected with many Auburn mainstays no longer on the roster - namely, Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, and Denver Jones.
Pettiford should be in contention for SEC Player of the Year and should put up huge numbers this season. The additions of Keyshawn Hall (18.8 ppg) from UCF and Elyjah Freeman (18.9 ppg) from D2 Lincoln Memorial should keep Auburn as one of the top offenses in the country this season. The Tigers also added solid players from defensive-minded teams in Kevin Overton from Texas Tech and KeShawn Murphy from Mississippi State.
I really like the Murphy addition. Auburn needed a solid big man who could impact both ends of the court. But I do have some concerns about the Tigers bringing in the likes of Hall and Freeman. Hall is used to dominating the ball, but if he is willing to take a secondary scoring role, he should thrive in Auburn's offense. And Freeman is great on paper, though the jump from D2 to the SEC is hard for any player to make. If he can make a big impact early on, then I’ll have no problem buying into what he can achieve at this level.
I don’t think Auburn will be nearly as dominant as it was a season ago. Steven Pearl will likely continue with what his father had set up this offseason, so the Tigers should still be one of the better teams in the conference. They might not be SEC or NCAA Title contenders, but they will undoubtedly be tough to beat.