Auburn men's basketball defeated Appalachian State on Monday in Neville Arena for its second win of the season.
All 10 players who saw action for Auburn on Monday scored at least two points, led by Tahaad Pettiford's 26. However, since so many players got involved, Pettiford was the only player to reach double figures. Kolby King and Adam Olsen came close to double digits with nine points, while Narcisse Ngoy, George Kimble, and Owen Freeman each scored six.
Defensively, Auburn held Appalachian State to 53 points on 32% shooting. Eren Banks and Jaylen Colon each reached double figures in points; however, eight bench players combined for just 13 points.
How did Auburn's win over Appalachian State affect itsKenPom ranking? Here is where Auburn stands
in several major categories after KenPom's latest update.
Overall ranking: No. 20
The Tigers are up two spots to No. 20 following their 75-53 win over Appalachian State on Monday. Auburn is one of five SEC teams ranked in the top 20 of Tuesday's KenPom update.
Offensive efficiency: No. 17
Auburn boasts a top-20 offense with an efficiency rating of 119.3, meaning that KenPom projects Auburn to score 119.3 points per 100 possessions. Entering Tuesday's action, Auburn ranks one spot higher in this category than Arizona, its next opponent.
Defensive efficiency: No. 31
The Tigers are just outside KenPom's top 30 with a defensive efficiency rating of 96.2. Despite ranking No. 31 in defensive efficiency, Auburn ranks higher than several notable programs, including Alabama, Purdue, and North Carolina, in this category.
Tempo: No. 198
Auburn is middle of the road in tempo according to KenPom, which projects Auburn to create 70.7 offensive possessions per game. In its win over Appalachian State, Auburn created 60 possessions and scored on 34.
Auburn's possessions were well below average on Monday because Appalachian State is the slowest team in college basketball, according to KenPom, with an estimated 65.7 possessions per game. Auburn's pace will change drastically on Friday when it faces Arizona, the No. 25 team in tempo.
Strength of schedule: No. 285
Auburn has proven its schedule has not been tough so far with blowout wins over Southeastern Louisiana and Appalachian State. However, the schedule will get much tougher for Auburn over the next two weeks with guaranteed games against Arizona and West Virginia, two teams ranked in the KenPom top 35, and the possibility of playing Kansas, UNLV, Houston, Rutgers, Notre Dame, and Florida in the Players Era 8 Festival in Las Vegas next week.
As of now, Auburn's opponents have an offensive efficiency rating of 99.0 and a defensive efficiency rating of 110.3.
Arizona overview
Auburn basketball will have its first test of the season on Friday when it plays No. 11 Arizona in Neville Arena. The Wildcats are 1-1 with a loss to No. 15 UCLA and a win over Cal Poly. Arizona will play Northern Arizona on Tuesday before heading to the Plains for Friday's showdown.
Here's where Arizona ranks in major categories measured by KenPom:
- Overall: No. 13
- Offensive efficiency: No. 18 (119.3)
- Defensive efficiency: No. 16 (93.5)
- Tempo: No. 25 (74.0)
- Strength of schedule: No. 79
- KenPom's prediction: Auburn 80, Arizona 79 (Auburn has a 56% chance to win this game according to KenPom)
Taylor Jones is the lead writer for Auburn Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky. FollowAuburn Wire on X andFacebook.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: How Auburn's win over Appalachian State affects its KenPom ranking
