College basketball returns this week, and the No. 11 Auburn Tigers are looking to build upon last season’s SEC Tournament championship.
This week, Auburn hosts Vermont on Wednesday at Neville Arena before traveling to Houston, Texas to compete against the No. 4 Houston Cougars at Toyota Center, as part of “The Battleground 2K” on Saturday.
College Sports Wire’s Andy Patton released his preseason rankings ahead of this week’s action, giving Auburn a favorable starting position. Auburn checks in at No. 10, trailing Alabama (No. 2) for the top spot among SEC teams.
Patton says that Auburn will be a force this season due to its upgrades at the guard position.
Auburn returns NPOY candidate Johni Broome to the frontcourt, as well as Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones. The team was a top five KenPom squad last year, and despite the loss to Yale in the first round they are primed for another big season in the SEC – especially after shoring up the guard play with portal additions Miles Kelly (Georgia Tech) and JP Pegues (Furman).
Kelly and Pegues come to Auburn with stacked resumes. Kelly averaged 11.1 points in three seasons at Georgia Tech. Last season, he pulled down a career-best 5.5 rebounds per game and scored 13.9 points per contest. Pegues earned first-team All-SoCon honors last season after scoring an impressive 18.4 points per game.
Rival Alabama checks in at No. 1 in Patton’s preseason poll while Saturday’s opponent, Houston, starts the season at No. 2. Four SEC teams rank below Auburn this week: No. 13 Florida, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 17 Tennessee, and No. 22 Texas.
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