This has been a strange start to the 2019-2020 College Basketball season.
There has been a revolving door at #1 with nobody staying there very long.
Unexpectedly, Auburn is the last undefeated power 5 conference team left. But Auburn has not played a very hard preseason schedule with the best win probably against NC State. Auburn has played good defense, but their outside shooting has been mostly horrible. Auburn will almost certainly start 2020 undefeated with a 12-0 record. They will be tested quickly with their first conference game on the road at Mississippi State closely followed by a game with Florida.
Going into the start of 2020 there have been 6 different #1 teams in College Basketball. Gonzaga is #1 now, and they are starting conference play which means they won't be playing anyone challenging for months.
Auburn is 12-0; but they have not played anyone harder than NC-State. Their outside shooting (outside of Johnson) has been horrible - and Johnson is a sub. They are playing better defense than last year- but have a point guard shooting 36% of his free throws and a team that is turning over the ball 15+ times per game. San Diego State is also undefeated - and their conference schedule is very weak.
I never would have expected this when the season started - but Auburn is still undefeated and UNC is having the worst season in my lifetime.
Pearl has the Auburn players motivated every game. They frequently come out not shooting that great, but it does not effect their defense or rebounding. I doubt this is a final 4 team, but it is wonderful seeing a team maximize their potential.
Auburn has become a true two sport school. Never thought I'd see it.
Wore my Orange and Blue to the grocery store today and heard more "War Eagles" than when we were in football season.
I love seeing what Pearl has done to the program.
Auburn beat LSU in overtime to take the lead in the SEC regular season. Auburn's only lead of the second half came very late in the game.
Given all of the scoring they lost from last year and how badly they shoot - I'm amazed they only have 2 losses. But they play hard, play good defense, and rebound well every game.