We're still over one month away from the conclusion of the 2024-25 college basketball season, and as NCAA Tournaments of the past have taught us, certainly anything can happen in the month of March. But through the first four months of the season, it would be difficult to argue that the Auburn Tigers haven't been the best team in the country.

The SEC-leading Tigers are 26-2 and have been ranked either 1st or 2nd in the country since the month of December began. Their only losses of the season have come to the 2nd-ranked Duke Blue Devils and the 3rd-ranked Florida Gators. Otherwise, Bruce Pearl's Tigers have been virtually flawless, racking up wins against a who's who of pseudo National Title contenders such as Houston, Iowa State, Memphis, Purdue, Tennessee and Alabama.

But perhaps the most complete game the Tigers have played all season came on Wednesday night when the Ole Miss Rebels came to town and were greeted by an onslaught of an offensive attack. In the end, Auburn scored a convincing 106-76 win over the Rebels, led by a 24 point, 9 rebound, 4 assist performance from National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome. After the game, Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard heaped some well-deserved praise upon the Tigers.

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“The defense from Ole Miss was nonexistent, but that had a lot to do with Auburn,” Beard said, per Justin Ferguson of the Auburn Observer. “Auburn is as good as advertised… A team that, definitely, in my opinion, is in the handful of favorites to win six games in three weekends.”

Beard's assessment of Auburn could prove to be prophetic, though unfortunately for the Ole Miss head coach, his squad did catch the Tigers at their 2024-25 best. 106 points is their highest scoring total the season, and the most points Auburn has scored since a 115-109 double overtime loss to the UConn Huskies in the 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. This season, the Tigers are the 5th-highest scoring team in the country, and boast the 2nd-highest Offensive Rating in the country.

The remainder of Auburn's regular season schedule could end up strengthening their grip on their National Title favorites status heading into the Big Dance. Auburn's next two games are on the road against Kentucky and Texas A&M before they finish the season with a home game versus in-state rival Alabama on the final Saturday of the regular season.