Auburn sneaks into Jon Rothstein’s ‘Rothstein45’ ahead of the season

The Auburn Tigers basketball team will have a new look for the 2026-27 season that should result in a much better team.

The Tigers’ new roster is catching college basketball experts’ attention. College basketball writer and podcast host Jon Rothstein has Auburn at No. 44 in his Rothstein45. Rothstein projects an Auburn starting lineup featuring returning guards Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton. According to Rothstein, the starting frontcourt will feature all transfer portal additions in Thomas Dowd (Troy), Owen Freeman (Creighton), and Bukky Oboye (Santa Clara).

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Auburn is one of 11 SEC teams featured in the list, with the Florida Gators hanging out at the top. For Auburn, the need to improve in the frontcourt was obvious when the season was over. The Tigers did not have much depth in the frontcourt after KeShawn Murphy and Flip Jovic. With both players one from the program, head coach Steven Pearl and staff went to work rebuilding the frontline.

Recent Auburn teams that were title contenders had elite talent in the frontcourt. The 2021-22 Tigers, featuring Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, reached a No. 1 ranking during that season. The 2024-25 team that reached the Final Four was led by forward Johni Broome, along with Chaney Johnson and Dylan Cardwell in the frontcourt.

If the new Auburn frontcourt develops the way it should, the Tigers could have another good team on the Plains.

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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn basketball checks in at No. 44 in Jon Rothstein’s rankings

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/auburn-sneaks-jon-rothsteins-rothstein45-164238864.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-17 16:42:00

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