In 2025, the SEC might have the best basketball conference... ever
Auburn had the best KenPom rating on January 1 of any team since (at least) 2011. It's projected to lose multiple SEC games. That says a lot.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
AUBURN — After a particularly difficult practice during the preseason, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl gathered up his players and gave them his outlook.
“You guys want the good news?” Pearl told his team. “Auburn basketball could be one of the top 30 programs in the country this year. We could also finish 10th in this league, especially if we keep practicing like that.”
Heading into 2025 and the start of SEC play, it appears that Pearl sold his team a little short — as coaches often do.
But he was spot-on about the state of the conference.
Auburn just went through the toughest non-conference schedule in the history of the program and walked out of it with a single loss, a close result at ultra-talented Duke.
“Obviously, we aren't undefeated in non-conference, but to only lose one game by six in probably one of the harder places to play in the country, it makes us feel good,” center Dylan Cardwell said Monday. “We had some really great competition in neutral environments, and it just gives me confidence for this team going forward. I'm excited to play on the road in the SEC, to see how we compete.
“We did an alright job at Duke, but not every place is gonna be Cameron Indoor. So I'm just excited to see the potential of this team going forward.”
In the eyes of the NCAA’s NET rankings on Wednesday, the Tigers picked up six Quad 1 victories: No. 5 Houston, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 22 Ohio State, No. 38 Purdue, No. 42 North Carolina, No. 43 Memphis. Nobody else in college basketball has more than four of those wins, and only Oregon, UConn and Utah State are in their own exclusive club.
“I'm very, very proud of our kids,” Pearl said Monday night, immediately after Auburn beat Monmouth to close non-conference play. “A lot of the games we played were at neutral sites and away from home, so we demonstrated that we can win away from Neville.”
“Now, we get ready to start the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball.”
This isn’t hyperbole from Pearl. This isn’t the case of a coach talking up his fellow conference members.
This can be verified by the numbers.