After Villanova concluded its dominant 2018 NCAA Tournament run with a 79-62 stomping of Michigan in the national title game, sports media and fans immediately went to work speculating about next season, as we'll be dry of any college hoops until October.
In both CBS and ESPN's "way-too-early" Top 25 rankings, Bruce Pearl's Auburn Tigers find themselves in the top 5, sitting at No. 4 in the former and No. 5 in the latter.
ESPN's top 5 uses Auburn to round out a group of traditional blue bloods, including Kansas, Duke, Villanova and fellow SEC opponent Kentucky just one spot ahead of the Tigers. The group cites athletic director Allen Greene's vote of confidence last week as a positive season for the team heading into the offseason.
"Despite the drama, Pearl still captured a slice of the SEC title in one of the league's strongest years," Myron Medcalf wrote. "Mustapha Heron (16.4 PPG) and others could test the draft waters. But Pearl could lose a player or two and still enter next season with a stacked roster, one that will also feature a healthy Anfernee McLemore."
CBS's rankings start the same, but gift Auburn the No. 4 spot, followed by Tennessee at No. 5. Under the category "notable players expected to return," CBS lists both Austin Wiley and Heron, both of whom still hold the possibility of testing the NBA Draft waters.
"Auburn should be the favorite in the SEC and a real threat to make the first Final Four in school history," Gary Parrish said. "Mustapha Heron is a big reason why."
2018/19 NCAA Basketball Title Odds
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) April 3, 2018
Duke 6/1
Kansas 10/1
Kentucky 10/1
Villanova 10/1
N. Carolina 15/1
Gonzaga 18/1
Michigan St 20/1
Virginia 20/1
Michigan 28/1
Oregon 28/1
UCLA 35/1
WVU 35/1
Auburn 38/1
Florida 50/1
Purdue 50/1
Texas Tech 50/1
Wichita St 50/1
Immediately following the national championship game, the Associated Press released its odds for next season's national champ, listing Auburn as a 38/1 favorite, good for No. 13 on the list.
Auburn bowed out of the 2018 in an embarrassing 84-53 loss to Clemson in the Round of 32, however the Tigers still turned in one of their best seasons in over a decade. The team won its first SEC crown since 1999 and made its first appearance in the Big Dance since 2003.
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