Auburn is No. 1 in the daily CBS Sports Top 25 college basketball rankings and 1 for the sixth straight morning and will likely move to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll when it is updated later Monday.
But are the Tigers Really the best team in the sport as it currently stands?
That’s a good question.
The truth is, they probably aren’t anymore now that Johni Broome, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, is out indefinitely due to a sprained left ankle suffered in Saturday’s win in South Carolina. Auburn is expected to be without its best player, and one of the best players in the sport, for at least a week, if not several weeks. And if some PA voters choose to take heed and move Iowa State or Duke to the top spot, I’ll totally understand.
But, as I explained on Sunday, I personally have never made a habit of punishing Top 25 And 1 teams for injuries until the injuries lead to negative results that hurt the entire team. work. This is why I’m keeping Auburn #1 despite Broome’s injury. The Tigers are 15-1 overall and 7-1 in Quadrant 1, making them the only team in the country with at least six Q1 wins and no more than one total loss. Simply put, this is the best job in college basketball, and I will respect it until it’s no longer the case.
So how will Broome’s absence impact Auburn?
It is impossible to know for sure. But one way to illustrate its importance is to emphasize that KenPom.com projects Auburn as a 13-point favorite against Mississippi State on Tuesday at home – but EvanMiya.com only puts the figure at -4.5 after factoring in Broome’s absence. These are, to be clear, two different computer formulas, and the actual point spread will likely be somewhere between these two numbers. But the point remains: The Tigers are a much different team without their All-American, and that’s going to be reflected in the point spreads in every game Auburn plays until Broome is healthy enough to return. in alignment.
