How Auburn's win over Vermont affects its KenPom ranking
Auburn basketball dominated its season-opening contest on Wednesday, taking down Vermont, 94-43.
No. 11 Auburn outshot Vermont 56% to 26% and won the rebound battle, 43-31. Auburn's bench posted 47 of Auburn's 94 points, which outscored Vermont's entire unit. Five Tigers reached double-figures in points, led by Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly who scored all 21 points from three-point territory.
Wednesday's win was special, but the celebration must be cut short as Auburn will travel to Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday to battle the No. 4 Houston Cougars. How efficient is Auburn heading into the primetime matchup? Here is a look at where Auburn stands in major categories according to the latest KenPom rankings.
Overall ranking: No. 2
Auburn's win over the defending America East champions advances them two places to No. 2 heading into Thursday's action. Auburn has an average efficiency margin of +28.91 and is the highest-ranked SEC team.
Adjusted offensive efficiency: No. 3
According to KenPom data, Auburn is projected to score 119.2 points per 100 possessions, trailing Alabama (122.0) and Gonzaga (122.9) for the top spot. In Wednesday's win, Auburn scored 94 points in 68 possessions, shooting 56.3% from the field.
Adjusted defensive efficiency: No. 2
Auburn flashed signs of strong defense on Wednesday, limiting Vermont to 25.9% shooting from the field and creating 16 turnovers. KenPom suggests that Auburn's defense allows 90.3 points per 100 opponents possessions, which trails only Houston for the top spot in the nation.
Adjusted tempo: No. 59
Auburn created 68 possessions on Wednesday, scoring on 39 of them. That is below KenPom's projection of 73.0 possessions per game, which ranks No. 59 in the nation. New Mexico is the fastest team in college basketball according to KenPom with 76.5 projected possessions per game, while Virginia is the slowest with a projection of 65.6 possessions per contest.
Auburn's next opponent: Houston
Saturday's game between Auburn and Houston will be exciting to watch from an analytics standpoint. Both teams rank No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the overall rankings and defense. Both are also top-five teams in terms of scoring.
Here's a breakdown of where Houston ranks in every major KenPom category.
Overall: No. 1
Offensive efficiency: No. 4 (118.7 points per 100 possessions)
Defensive efficiency: No. 1 (88.4 points allowed per 100 possessions)
Adjusted tempo: No. 353 (67.9 possessions per game)
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: How Auburn's win over Vermont affects its KenPom ranking
