Bruce Pearl has been building something special for the Auburn basketball program, and with one of the best players in the country, Johni Broome, there could be magic on the plains.
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Auburn basketball.
The reigning SEC champions saw an unexpected first-round exit in the NCAA tournament but returned one of the best rosters in the country, headlined by first-team All-SEC center Johni Broome. The Tigers will also present a formidable backcourt of Furman transfer J.P. Pegues and Denver Jones.
The combination of adding a pair of talented freshmen and adding experience in the back court through the portal, Pearl will look to have Auburn back in the Final Four for the first time since the 2019 tournament.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach: Bruce Pearl (11th season at Auburn, 32th season overall)
2023-24 record: 27-8 (13-5)
2024 postseason finish: Lost to Yale (78-76) in first round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Jaylin Williams (12.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 39.5 3P%)
- K.D. Johnson (7.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 37.8 FG%)
Notable non-conference games:
- at Houston (Nov. 9)
- at Iowa State (Nov. 2) (Maui Invitational)
- at Duke (Dec. 4)
- vs. Ohio State (Dec. 14) (Atlanta)
- vs. Purdue (Dec. 21) (Birmingham)
Projected Rotation
PG: JP Pegues (6-2, 180, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 18.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.3 APG, 42.0 FG% (Furman)
SG: Denver Jones (6-4, 205, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 9.1 PPG, 1.9 APG, 1.3 RPG, 41.3 3P%
SF: Chris Moore (6-6, 220, Gr-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 2.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 47.7 FG%
PF: Chad Baker-Mazara (6-7, 180, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 10 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 41.8 3P%
C: Johni Broome (7-1, 270, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 16.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.2 BPG, 54.8 FG%
6: Tahaad Pettiford (6-1, 175, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #29 ranked recruit
7: Miles Kelly (6-6, 190 Sr.)
2023-24 stats 13.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 32.1 3P% (Georgia Tech)
8: Jahki Howard (6-5, 185, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #61 ranked recruit
9: Chaney Johnson (6-7, 225, Sr.)
2023-24 stats 4.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.8 APG, 50.0 FG%
10:Dylan Cardwell (6-11, 255, Gr-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.2 BPG, 70.9 FG%
Auburn Basketball team MVP: Johni Broome
The 2024 All-SEC first-team member has answered the Tiger’s problems these past two seasons after the departure created a void of No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr and No. 22 overall pick Walker Kessler, who were selected in the NBA draft after the 2021 season.
Auburn’s number one option has only gotten better year after year, and after considering entering the draft after the 2023-24 season, he elected to return to the Plains for his fifth year of college basketball. Broome will not only be one of the best in the conference but one of the best players in the country after seeing near statistical improvement across the board in the 2023-24 season. It is reasonable to expect something similar this season.
Auburn Basketball make-or-break player: Denver Jones
After transferring to Auburn for the 2023-24 season, Denver Jones was sought after for his elite three-point scoring ability. However, in his two seasons at FIU, he was a double-digit per-game point scorer and averaged 20.1 PPG in his final season with the Panthers.
With Jaylin Williams’s departure, Jones is expected to take on more of a scoring role and be asked to be the primary ball handler. While we are aware of his scoring ability, this Auburn team could be extraordinary if Jones can reach his full potential as a scorer and as a ball handler.
Key analytic: Three-point percentage
For an offense that ranked 13th in the country with 83.1 points per game, you would expect their three-ball to have played a large factor in that. However, the Tigers struggled from behind the arc and were ranked 111th in the country with a 35.22 3P%.
An offense that scores nearly 85 points per game while shooting as poorly from three as Auburn means that this team has yet to unlock something that could push it toward being one of the best-scoring teams in the country.
If the Tigers want to jump from SEC contender to national title contender, they will need to improve from behind the arc to seriously consider returning to the Final Four.
Auburn Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 2nd in the SEC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Final Four Exit