With the rollercoaster season behind them, Auburn basketball looks to move forward with Steven Pearl.
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.
Coming off a Final Four and the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, morale was at an all-time high in the Auburn Basketball program. However, a surprise retirement by longtime head coach Bruce Pearl just weeks before the season put his son, Steven, in charge of the program. They stayed on the bubble all season long, but just had too many losses in the end to justify an appearance. They at least went the distance in the NIT, becoming champions and adding a banner to their arena (although I’m sure it won’t be proudly displayed).
Now, in a less chaotic offseason, Pearl has a full offseason to build his roster and prepare them for the season. He’ll do it with Tahaad Pettiford, the star freshman who took a step back last season. He’ll also return Kevin Overton, the third-leading scorer and the most efficient on all three levels.
Then, there’s the new guys, starting with Owen Freeman, one of the biggest mysteries in all of college basketball. He’ll look to fight for minutes at center with the 7-foot-1 Bukky Oboye and the walking double-double from Troy in Thomas Dowd. They also add two really talented mid-major scorers in Adam Olsen and George Kimble III, who really solidify their depth, something they really lacked last year.
One name to follow is Narcisse Ngoy. The 7-foot Frenchman was drafted 57th overall in this year’s draft, but will not play in the NBA and will instead be going to Auburn. If he is eligible, this might open another can of worms in the wild west of the NCAA, so monitor his situation all year long.
All in all, the pressure is on from Auburn basketball fans who may see this hire as more of a nepotism hire than a skill-based hire. However, Pearl is a smart coach, and he is ready to prove those fans wrong and have them right back in tournament conversations.
Head coach: Steven Pearl (2nd season overall, both at Auburn)
2025-26 record: 22-16 (7-11)
2026 postseason finish: NIT Champions
Notable departures:
- Keyshawn Hall (19.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.6 APG)
- Keyshawn Murphy (10.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.3 APG)
- Elyjah Freeman (9.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.2 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Arizona (Nov. 13)
- vs. West Virginia (Nov. 17) – Players Era
- vs. Kansas OR UNLV (Nov. 18) – Players Era
- TBD (Nov. 19) – Players Era
- at Clemson (Dec. 1)
- vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 19)
Projected Rotation
PG: Tahaad Pettiford (6-1, 180, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 39.3 FG%, 82.5 FT%
SG: Kevin Overton (6-5, 205, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 44.6 FG%, 41.3 3P%, 86.0 FT%
SF: Mantas Rubstavicius (6-6, 215, Fr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.8 APG (Lithuania)
PF: Thomas Dowd (6-8, 235, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 44.1 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 80.0 FT% (Troy)
C: Bukky Oboye (7-1, 230, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 66.7 FG%, 65.6 FT% (Santa Clara)
6: Adam Olsen (6-8, 225, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 16.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 39.9 FG%, 39.5 3P%, 84.3 FT% (South Alabama)
7: Owen Freeman (6-10, 245, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 60.2 FG%, 64.3 FT% (Creighton)
8: George Kimble III (6-1, 200, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 18.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.6 SPG, 38.0 FG%, 34.8 3P%, 85.1 FT% (EKU)
*Missed 2025-26 season with injury
9: Narcisse Ngoy (7-0, 280, Fr.)
2025-26 stats: 9.9 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.8 BPG (France)
#57 Pick in the NBA Draft
10: Kolby King (6-1, 185, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.6 SPG, 47.7 FG%, 39.3 3P%, 74.7 FT% (Utah State)
* Eligibility Pending
Auburn basketball team MVP: Tahaad Pettiford
Pettiford came into the Auburn program as a player who would be a solid role piece his freshman year, and nothing else. Instead, he became one of the most dynamic scorers in all of college basketball, elevating his play on the biggest stages and playing confidently. After talks of him going to the draft following that impressive season, he decided to bet on himself and return to college basketball, and was labeled as a potential First Team All-American and potentially the Wooden Award winner.
While his counting stats looked better, his efficiency dropped a lot. A lot of times, between him and Keyshawn Hall, it felt like my turn, your turn basketball instead of fluid play like the previous season. Pearl clearly understood that and built a team this year that will allow him to succeed as a scorer and a playmaker. If he can get back up to his efficiency from freshman year, he can be a 20+ per game scorer, and potentially the best player in the SEC.
Auburn basketball make-or-break player: Owen Freeman
After scoring nearly 17 PPG a night on 64% shooting from the field at Iowa, Freeman was one of the hottest names in the portal. He decided on Creighton as his next destination, potentially becoming the next great Creighton big with Ryan Kalkbrenner moving on. In the first six games, he played 19 or more minutes five times. The rest of the season, just once.
Freeman found himself nearly out of the rotation, finishing most conference games with under 10 minutes played. Defensively, he struggled and couldn’t mesh with what head coach Alan Huss wanted to do. Creighton fans completely turned on him, knowing how much NIL he was making, and now he looks to Pearl to turn his career around and get him back to his Iowa ways.
We know how good the backcourt will be with Pettiford and Overton, and while the frontcourt doesn’t look bad by any means, it can be better. Cue Freeman, who can do just that if he can get back to his ways. If Freeman can give them 25 minutes a game and average double figures and over a block per game, then this elevates this Auburn team to a whole new level and potentially a top-25 team. However, if it’s more of the same for Freeman, then that ceiling drops and the frontcourt depth falters.
Key statistic: Opponent three-point %
Against Auburn, opponents shot 36.7% from three, second worst in the SEC and third worst in all of the Power 5. In fact, it was the 337th best of 365. In today’s age, every team has more great three-point shooters than not, especially in the SEC, so when a defense is allowing the other team to shoot them at a high level, then it’s hard to win games unless you can match that, which Auburn basketball couldn’t.
This team should be better, and if they can just lower that by two or three percent, that could change the world for them. Expect a similar style of defense, but one that is more aggressive on the perimeter, especially with good rebounders like Dowd and Oboye ready to prevent those second-chance opportunities.
Auburn basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 10th in the SEC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament round of 32 exit