CBB Rank 2025: No. 20, Auburn Basketball

A new era for Auburn basketball is here. Did the athletic department make the right decision with the promotion of Bruce Pearl’s son, Steven?

The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Auburn basketball.

It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason for a team that made its second-overall Final Four appearance this past March Madness. Only a month and a half before the start of the season, Bruce Pearl abruptly quit, forcing Auburn’s hand to elevate his son, Steven, to the head coaching role. Steven has not been a head coach at any level of basketball, but has spent the last seven seasons as an assistant under his father at Auburn. Collegiately, Pearl played at Tennessee, also under his father. A home matchup against Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 3 will be Steven Pearl’s first ever official basketball game as a head coach. 

But looking beyond the change in coaching, the Auburn roster is almost completely different as opposed to last season’s team. The only player on the roster who is returning is point guard Tahaad Pettiford, though let it be known that the return of Pettiford is major. Other than that, the Tigers lost arguably the best player in college basketball in Johni Broome, along with almost all of his supporting cast. 

At point guard, it’s Pettiford back in Auburn for this season. That should be a huge help with continuity, as he averaged double-digits as a freshman, including a 21-point performance against a historic Houston defense. Behind Pettiford in the rotation will be freshman Kaden Magwood, with Pettiford transitioning into the de facto veteran of the group. Magwood will see playing time early and often. 

At shooting guard, Kevin Overton will likely man the starting spot. Though he saw some drops in usage and efficiency after his transfer from Drake to Texas Tech, he still proved to be a valuable cog in the machine for the Red Raiders last season in their trip to the Elite Eight. With freshman guard Simon Walker injured, Drake Cardwell, Dylan’s brother, seems to be the backup option at the two. Cardwell did not see action last season. There is a high possibility of seeing a wing or point guard at the two during the season. 

But Lincoln Memorial transfer Elyjah Freeman will vie for a starting spot on the wing with JUCO transfer Abdul Bashir. Both showed out at their respective levels, but of course, both will have to adjust to playing Power Five basketball. At a listed 165 pounds, is Bashir physically able to keep up with SEC wings? He can score, for sure, (27.2 PPG) but it will be something to keep an eye on. Freeman has the size of a more typical wing at 185. 

UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall, certified bucket, will start at the four for Auburn. He led the Big 12 in scoring last season and will now look to do so in the SEC. With numerous departures from Auburn’s frontcourt after the offseason, it’s crucial for Hall to have a solid season offensively. Keep an eye on international prospect Filip Jović, from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He’s already able to make a name for himself. 

Mississippi State transfer KeShawn Murphy is a huge pickup for the Tigers. He broke out with the Bulldogs last season and even scored 11 points to go along with eight rebounds when Mississippi State played Auburn in the conference portion of the schedule. Freshman Sebastian Williams-Adams will be a name to watch as well in the frontcourt as the highest-rated recruit in Auburn’s class, per 247Sports. JUCO transfer Emeka Opurum will provide depth as well.

How will the Steven Pearl experience go? With concerns about depth (only four players were on a D-I program last season) and replacing an ultra-talented team, it’s valid to have doubts. However, even with all the chatter about the coaching change and how the current coach was selected, Auburn is still, at this moment of typing, a national brand, and the Final Four trip last season is proof of that.

Head coach: Steven Pearl (1st season overall))

2024-25 record: 32-6 (15-3)

2025 postseason finish: Lost to Florida (79-73) in Final Four

Notable departures: 

• Johni Broome (18.6 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.1 BPG)
• Chad Baker-Mazara (12.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.7 FPG)
• Miles Kelly (11.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.1 APG)
• Denver Jones (10.9 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.0 RPG)
• Chaney Johnson (9.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.3 APG)
• Dylan Cardwell (5.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.4 BPG)

Notable non-conference games: 

• vs. Houston (Nov. 16) – Birmingham
• vs. Oregon (Nov. 24) – Players Era Championship
• vs. Michigan (Nov. 25) – Players Era Championship
• Players Era Championship (Nov. 26-27)
• vs. NC State (Dec. 3) 
• vs. Purdue (Dec. 20) – Indianapolis

Projected Rotation

PG: Tahaad Pettiford (6-1, 170, So.)

2024-25 stats: 11.6 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.2 RPG

SG: Kevin Overton (6-5, 200, Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 7.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.9 APG (Texas Tech)

SF: Elyjah Freeman (6-8, 185, So.)

2024-25 stats: 18.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.2 APG (Lincoln Memorial – D-II)

PF: Keyshawn Hall (6-7, 240, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 18.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.4 APG (UCF)

C: KeShawn Murphy (6-10, 240, Sr.)

2024-25 stats: 11.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.6 APG (Mississippi State)

6: Abdul Bashir (6-7, 165, Jr.)

2024-25 stats: 27.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, 3.8 RPG (Casper College – JUCO)

7: Filip Jovic (6-8, 225, Fr.)

International recruit from Bosnia and Herzegovina

8: Sebastian Williams-Adams (6-8, 230, Fr.)

247Sports Composite No. 52-ranked recruit

9: Kaden Magwood (6-2, 175, Fr.)

247Sports Composite No. 59-ranked recruit

10: Drake Cardwell (6-5, 195, So.)

Did not play in 2024-25 season.

11: Emeka Opurum (7-0, 205, So.)

2024-25 stats: 9.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.8 BPG (Butler Community College – JUCO)

Auburn Basketball team MVP: Keyshawn Hall

The UCF transfer forward is arguably the best player on the Tigers’ roster this season. Hall is entering his fourth school in four seasons, but he broke out in a major way with the Knights last year. His 18.8 PPG led the Big 12, and he was named All-Big 12 Second Team for his efforts. He’s got NBA size, but can also hit his shots from the line, with a 81.7 FT% over his career. Hall will almost certainly occupy the starting four spot for Auburn this year, and he’s crucial to the team’s hopes of making another run in the NCAA tournament. 

Auburn Basketball make-or-break player: KeShawn Murphy

The Mississippi State transfer broke out in a big way last season. After two years of trying to find a niche, Murphy played a much larger role than in prior seasons with efficiency on the boards, in the paint, and rim protecting. Despite just three starts on the season, Murphy led the Bulldogs in both rebounds per game and blocks per game.

His best game may have come against Utah in the non-conference portion of the schedule, when he scored 18 points and added 14 rebounds, with seven of those boards coming on the offensive end of the ball. With both Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell departing, Auburn needs a steadying force in the paint. KeShawn Murphy is about as steady as it gets, and Bruce Pearl did a good job getting him into Auburn before hitting retirement. 

Key analytic: Fouls per game

Auburn could simply not stay out of its own way at times last season. The fouls would start coming, and they simply wouldn’t stop. Per SportsReference, the Tigers ranked 323rd nationally with an average of 18.5 fouls per game. Only two other tournament teams averaged more fouls per game than Auburn, with those teams ironically being Texas and Alabama. Auburn had 16 games of 20+ fouls, including a 25-foul performance against Kentucky. In those 16 games, Auburn was 12-4. Not bad, but keep in mind that the Tigers were 20-2 in all other games. Without last year’s super talented roster that was to play well enough to offset any foul issues, the Tigers will need to corral their hands on defense and play just a little more disciplined.

Auburn Basketball 2025-26 projections

Projected conference finish: 6th in the SEC

Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen Exit