The Auburn Tigers' two best performances were an 85-74 Thanksgiving Day Eve victory over the St. John's Red Storm, who, like AU, have since fallen out of the rankings altogether, and a 73-72 loss to the Houston Cougars at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
Busting Brackets' Justin Wiles believes those are the only two games on Steven Pearl's record that separate the Tigers from the bottom half of an SEC that has seemingly fallen off during the 2025-26 season so far. Other than those, Auburn has been destroyed by ranked opponents like the Michigan Wolverines, Arizona Wildcats, and Purdue Boilermakers.
Wiles slotted Auburn at No. 7, behind the Kentucky Wildcats and ahead of the Georgia Bulldogs, in the conference through Christmas. Wiles also claimed that Pearl's squad has a limited ceiling defensively this season. That may as well be a death knell on the chance of any deep run in March if unfixed.
"Other than a one-point loss to then No. 1 Houston and an 11-point win over No. 14 St. John’s, this Auburn team has been completely outclassed by its ranked opponents. The 88-60 loss to Purdue on Saturday marked the third time this season that the Tigers have fallen to a ranked team by more than 28 points. That’s not ideal for a team hoping to make another deep NCAA Tournament run this season. The defense has, understandably, taken a step back this year, but unless Steven Pearl can make some changes, there is a clear ceiling on how far the Tigers can go," Wiles wrote.
Auburn could've used its own James Nnaji
Everyone knows by now about the Baylor Bears' infamous Winter break, free agent signing of James Nnaji, the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Nnaji never played a game in the NBA, so he maintained eligibility. Assuming that's the NCAA's line.
If only Auburn could've been in the mix for a big like Nnaji. The Tigers have been shallow on size and physicality this year after building a brand on it the past few years with Dylan Cardwell, Johni Broome, Chaney Johnson, Jaylin Williams, Walker Kessler, and Jabari Smith. Emeka Opurum's season-ending injury only complicated matters.
Pearl needs to figure out how to pull off whatever rev-share maneuvers Baylor head coach Scott Drew's latest move was and replicate them.
The Tigers wouldn't be this far down the SEC ladder had Auburn landed Nnaji instead.