Auburn, Houston rated as top 2 college basketball teams in country
Are you ready for a potential 2025 Final Four matchup in early November?
Saturday night's nonconference college basketball showdown between Big 12 power Houston and SEC power Auburn promises to be just that.
Assuming Auburn has worked out its internal issues that led a fight on the team plane, the Tigers enter the game against the Cougars with a loaded roster — and a No. 2 national rating.
Led by national player of the year candidate Johni Broome, Bruce Pearl's team has size, experience, depth and defensive versatility. The Tigers are ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll, but they're No. 2 in KenPom's college basketball ratings.
Unlike the subjective coaches and media polls, KenPom's ratings are based on actual data. His ratings system evaluates teams based on adjusted offensive efficiency, adjusted defensive efficiency, adjusted tempo, luck rating and strength of schedule. Those ratings combine to generate an overall adjusted efficiency margin.
The No. 1 team in the country in KenPom's ratings?
You guessed it: the Houston Cougars.
Kelvin Sampson's squad has looked every bit the part of the best team in the country through two games (counting Houston's exhibition win over Texas A&M). The Cougars have four starters back from a team that went 32-5, and they added Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan and a healthy Terrance Arceneaux.
Led by national player of the year candidate LJ Cryer, who is 10-of-18 from downtown in the two games, Houston has arguably the best 7-player rotation in the country:
- Guards Cryer, Uzan, Arceneaux and Emanuael Sharp; and versatile bigs J'Wan Roberts, JoJo Tugler and Ja'Vier Francis.
Sampson will go deeper than seven players throughout the season, but when Big 12 play rolls around he knows he has an elite first seven to turn to in big moments.
Houston is favored by 4.5 points over Auburn and ESPN's FPI gives the Cougars a 66.1% chance to win. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 8:30 p.m. CT at Toyota Center in downtown Houston. It will be televised on ESPNU.
More Houston & Big 12 Analysis
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.