SEC play turned out to be too much for Auburn basketball. They finished the regular season with a road loss to Texas A&M. Furthermore, coach Bruce Pearl saw his team fall in overtime against Alabama at home in a thrilling finale. Some are overreacting and punishing the Tigers too harshly in their power rankings as a result.
This is the best overall team, and they’ve proven this over the course of the year. The SEC is simply the best basketball conference on the men’s side in the country. Teams are beating up on each other as they prepare for conference tournament play. Any roster getting through unscathed is a completely unrealistic expectation.
Depending on the expert, anywhere from nine to 11 teams could represent the conference on the national stage come Selection Sunday. Therefore, reducing how spectators view this team by too much is an overreaction. Losing once on the road to a ranked team after going undefeated away from Neville Arena should mean something.
This is particularly true with upcoming neutral site environments. A lot of squads look and play entirely differently when they aren’t in their home environments. Coach Pearl has managed to keep his side focused and lethal while facing these hostile crowds. Especially considering this happened in the SEC, one late blemish on the resume can be overlooked.
Then losing to a Mark Sears game-winner in OT is far from a black mark on the record. That was simply a case of two quality programs going at each other and giving college basketball fans a fantastic product. Regardless, Auburn basketball losing twice at the end shouldn’t overshadow the incredible year to this point.
Key factor for Auburn basketball
At the end of the day, the team with the best player on the court always stands a great chance at winning. Except possibly when playing Duke and Cooper Flagg, Johni Broome will be that. The presumed Naismith College Player of the Year is the Blue Devil’s freshman.
However, if it weren’t for Flagg, Broome would be the hands-down favorite. Either way, coach Pearl has a reliable veteran player to turn to at any time. At 18.6 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per contest, he offers a frontcourt presence that others don’t have an answer for.
Finally, Broome’s experience and leadership will likely prove to be the difference as the margins get slimmer in both the conference and national tournaments. Auburn basketball is in a good place. Their latest losses aren’t enough of a concern to steer away from them for upcoming brackets.
