2. Auburn Tigers
Bruce Pearl is one of the more polarizing figures in the current college basketball landscape, but one thing is undeniable when it comes to Pearl… he wins basketball games. In 20 seasons as a head coach, he has only had three seasons with a losing record. And while at Auburn he has won at least 21 games in six of the last seven seasons.
What made Auburn so hard to beat last year was an elite offense and a very strong defense. Johni Broome (16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg), Chad Baker-Mazara (10.0 ppg), and Denver Jones (9.1 ppg) all return from a Tigers team that averaged 83 points per game. Auburn did lose a few key role players as Tre Donaldson, Aden Holloway, and K.D. Johnson entered the transfer portal, but Pearl brought in one of the top guards from the Southern Conference to help run the offense. JP Pegues averaged 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists last season at Furman. The addition of Miles Kelley (13.9 ppg) from Georgia Tech should also help prevent any offensive regression this upcoming season.
Defensively Auburn returns two of the top shot blockers in the conference. Johni Broome averaged 2.2 blocks last year while Dylan Cardwell added 1.6 of his own each game. The Tigers should be one of the top defensive teams in the SEC again this season. If the Tigers can improve on the 68.3 points they allowed to opponents last season, then the sky will be the limit this year.
Auburn had very little roster turnover compared to most of the conference, which should help keep things running smoothly this season. The Tigers had one of the top offenses a year ago and added a couple of solid scorers to replace what it lost this offseason. Bruce Pearl should have one of the top defenses in the conference, giving Auburn a solid starting position this season. The only reason why this Auburn team isn’t the top-ranked SEC team this preseason is because of in-state rival Alabama, but if any team is going to challenge Alabama for the top of the conference standings it will be Auburn.