After a high-profile transfer and a five-star recruit, Auburn basketball is getting some noise.
The Tigers recently clocked in at No. 16 on 247Sports’ “way too early” top 25 college basketball rankings. Auburn is the fourth highest SEC school on the list behind Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennesee.
Here is what the list had to say about Auburn’s chances for next year:
“The Tigers weren’t in our initial rankings because we wanted to see the pieces Auburn added to its returning backcourt. Getting Morehead State transfer Johni Broome, one of the top big men in the portal, to add to former LSU commit Yohan Traore restocks the big-man talent pool and could make Auburn an SEC contender again. And if the backcourt, headed by KD Johnson, can consistently become what it was at times last year, look out.”
It should come as no surprise that the additions of Broome and Traore are major points here — with the departures of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler to the NBA draft, it was imperative that Auburn picked up two playmakers to replace them in order to keep the roster strength it had this year. With Broome and Traore’s arrival, coach Bruce Pearl has managed to keep together a powerful unit that could once again contend for SEC titles.
That being said, as the ranking notes, Auburn will be facing some competition in the SEC this year. Arkansas has had a strong recruiting class and has been active in the transfer portal, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe is coming back for another year and a Tennessee roster that retains itself this offseason could be deadly. Nevertheless, Pearl is sure to fancy his chances with the new additions to his roster.
[listicle id=46848]