One of college basketball’s hottest teams, the Auburn Tigers, were cooled off on Wednesday by falling 84-78 on the road to the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Veteran senior Johni Broome and freshman Tahaad Pettiford each scored 20 points in the contest while Chad Baker-Mazara connected on all five free throw attempts on his way to a 17-point outing. In all, Auburn shot 45.3% from the field and scored 34 points in the paint.
The biggest difference between Auburn and Duke was trips to the free-throw line. Duke earned 27 free-throw opportunities, while Auburn gained 12. Duke also dominated the fastbreak category by scoring 16 points and holding Auburn to zero.
How did Auburn’s first loss of the season affect its place within the KenPom? Here is where Auburn stands in every major category following Wednesday’s action.
Overall: No. 1
Good news! Auburn remains the KenPom’s No. 1 team despite dropping a road contest to Duke, which entered Wednesday’s game at No. 5 in the KenPom. Due to their win, the Blue Devils rose two places to No. 3, which aids Auburn in the strength of schedule department. Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida join Auburn in the top 10 while Kentucky is just outside at No. 11.
Adjusted offensive efficiency: No. 1
Auburn also stays at No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency following its loss. According to KenPom, the Tigers are projected to score 126.9 points per 100 possessions, 2.5 points higher than the No. 2 team (Gonzaga).
Adjusted defensive efficiency: No. 27
Auburn’s adjusted defensive efficiency took the biggest hit after Wednesday’s action. The Tigers were a top-10 team in the category, but giving up 84 points to Duke sends them freefalling out of the top 25. Auburn is projected to allow its opponents to score just 95.4 points per 100 possessions according to KenPom data.
Adjusted tempo: No. 192
Auburn remains a “middle-of-the-pack” team nationally in adjusted tempo, which measures how many possessions each team is projected to create per game. Auburn had 60 possessions on Wednesday, which is below KenPom’s forecast of 67.9 possessions per game.
Fresno State leads the nation in this category with 74.7 possessions per game, while Wagner is last with 61.1 possessions per game.
Strength of Schedule: No. 4
The Auburn Tigers have the toughest schedule in the SEC and the fourth-toughest in the nation. Auburn has played four of KenPom’s top 25 teams through eight games and has a 3-1 record against said squads. Auburn’s opponents have an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 112.8 (No. 9 nationally) and an adjusted defensive efficiency of 97.2 (No. 3 nationally).
Richmond overview
Auburn’s next opponent is the Richmond Spiders, who will visit Neville Arena on Sunday for an 11 a.m. CT tipoff. The Spiders will enter Sunday’s contest with a 4-4 record, most recently defeating Ball State on Wednesday in Fort Myers, Florida, 73-60.
Here is where Richmond stacks up in KenPom’s Thursday morning update:
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Overall: No. 198
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Adjusted offensive efficiency: No. 243 (101.3)
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Adjusted defensive efficiency: No. 145 (104.0)
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Adjusted tempo: No. 273 (66.3)
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Strength of Schedule: No. 289
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: How Auburn’s loss to Duke affects its place in the KenPom rankings
