Auburn Basketball Picks Up a Statement Win Over USC

I've been battling the stomach flu for the past couple of days, but I am now finally healthy enough to write about the absolute masterpiece Auburn put together in their matchup against star-studded USC on Sunday. In a sold-out Neville Arena, the Tigers dominated from start to finish in every aspect of the game. I think it's safe to say that we have put the country on notice.

Every single Auburn Tiger played his role perfectly on Sunday. The coaches, the stars, the role guys, everyone did their part. This team is meshing very quickly, and if we continue to improve, we could make some serious noise this year.

Nothing but positives from Sunday's game...

-The depth of this team is dangerously impressive. There is no drop off when we start rolling guys in and out. I would say that some aspects even improve once we get some of our second unit guys out there. Rebounding is better with Cardwell, Chaney Johnson, and Tre Donaldson on the floor. The defensive intensity picks up when KD Johnson and CBM step out there. I know I've said it before, but this is extremely important for teams in March. Superstars will win a couple of battles, but full squadrons will win the war.

-Dylan Cardwell is a DUDE. Allow me to explain. There are guys - guys are players that go through the motions and don't really impact winning in any sort of way. Then, there are DUDES - dudes are players that step on the floor and make their presence felt. You can't ignore dudes. You win with dudes. Dylan finished with eleven points, five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. He was a walking highlight reel on Sunday. I have no choice but to grant him DUDE status for the time being. In all seriousness, if he can continue to have this kind of impact on games, that will take a major amount of pressure off Johni. He won't have to worry about trying to put up 32+ minutes a night since Dylan will be able to make a genuine impact with the minutes he gets.

-Yet another game with many guys in double figures. This team is full of guys that can score the ball, which is why we were able to maintain a double digit lead for basically the entirity of the game. When one shot-maker steps off the floor, another shot-maker steps on. I believe we're getting to a point where guys on the team are figuring out their roles and where/how they should look to score. The shooters are spreading the floor for the drivers, and the drivers are collapsing the defense and creating opportunities for the shooters. This is a well-balanced team, and the offensive efficiency speaks for that. Auburn is sitting at 14th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency in Kenpom rankings.

-Auburn may have one of the best one-two punches at point guard in the SEC. Over the last three games, Tre and Aden have combined for 23 assists and only 3 turnovers. These are ELITE playmaking numbers. You have to be able to trust your guards with the ball, and I 100% am comfortable with the ball in our guards' hands.

-Neville was ROCKING on Sunday, and that is good for more reasons than just the home-court advantage for that game. There were both football and basketball recruits in-house, and I think it's safe to say the Auburn family put on a show for them. Alabama commit and flip target Ryan Williams was in the house, and he was greeted warmly with "we want Ryan" chants. I heard that 2025 5-star basketball target Caleb Wilson received some "we want Caleb" chants as well. The electric environment at Auburn is impossible to ignore.

-Jaylin Williams was aggressive out of the gate, giving me yet another opportunity to push my "we're better when Jaylin is playing aggressive" agenda. He had 14 on Sunday, which is right around where he needs to be every game.

This was a great win for Auburn. In a game where all eyes were on us, we stepped up and showed we can dominate a solid opponent. I am very pleased with where we are as a team at this point in the season.

Many people are upset that we are not ranked in the AP Poll yet. Frankly, I couldn't care less. Rankings are absolutely meaningless at this point in the season. The only ranking that matters is the ranking at the end of the regualar season, as this directly affects seedings in the conference and national tournaments. I can promise you the people that seed teams do not consider where teams were ranked before conference play. The only thing I care about at this point is how well we are playing as a team. We have plenty more to prove and plenty of opportunities to prove it coming up.

Auburn has three non-conference games before SEC play begins. Let's win these three convincingly and continue to mesh as we head into conference play.