Basketball season is here and Auburn goes into the 2024-2025 season with high expectations.

Bruce Pearl’s team ranks 11th in the preseason AP Poll and was picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference. Much of the hype is warranted, though, for a team coming off a conference tournament championship and returning much of its production.

It won’t be an easy to match last year’s success, though. Auburn plays one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country and the SEC continues to be one of the deepest conferences in college basketball.

With Auburn officially getting started on Wednesday, here are five bold predictions for the Tigers’ upcoming season:

Auburn will lose at least three nonconference games

With a tougher nonconference schedule often comes more nonconference losses. Auburn plays one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country this season, so it’ would be unrealistic to expect the Tigers to run through the beginning of the season unscathed.

Games against Houston, at Duke and Iowa State in Maui standout as the toughest early-season matchups. Auburn might not lose all three of those games, but those along with other tough games like Purdue and Ohio State force the Tigers to come together quickly.

With how strong the schedule is overall, a few losses early on won‘t negatively impact Auburn’s tournament resume much. Auburn has more to gain than to lose from these games and some early lumps could help the team later in the season.

Auburn will win the SEC

There‘s a very good chance the SEC comes down to the state of Alabama’s two teams this season. The Crimson Tide was picked to win the conference in the preseason poll, but Auburn wasn’t far behind in second place.

Both teams are more than talented enough to win the SEC and it wouldn‘t be a surprise if either team won it. That’s not to say only Auburn and Alabama can win it either, with teams like Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M all looking like contenders.

This season feels right for Auburn, though. When you combine a returning All-American, multiple returning starters, two instant-impact freshmen and proven transfers with enough early tests to figure out what works, you get a team that’s going to be hard to beat in the second half of the season.

Johni Broome will win the Wooden Award

Fourteen seniors have been awarded the Wooden Award in the past 24 seasons. Auburn’s Johni Broome has a chance at being No. 15 if he mirrors what he did a season ago for the Tigers.

Broome was named to the preseason All-SEC first team after averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in 2023. His other accolades include SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player, All-SEC first team and an SEC All-Defensive team pick.

A Wooden Award to Broome’s college career resume would put him up there with the greats college basketball has seen in recent years.

Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard will be named to the SEC All-Freshman team

Pearl brought in two highly touted freshmen in guard Tahaad Pettiford and forward Jahki Howard. The duo turned heads early in the Tigers’ two exhibition games, pointing to great signs for a good year from both players.

Pettiford signed as the No. 29 overall recruit in the country and scored 12 points with five assists in Auburn’s last exhibition game against Florida Atlantic. He drained two of his five 3-point attempts, nearly dropping a third that rimmed out due to a foul.

Howard scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting while adding four steals on the defensive end. With his unbelievable athleticism, his ability to create shot opportunities will be key down the stretch in conference play.

Nineteen players have been named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in Auburn’s history. The most recent Tiger players to be named to the All-Freshman Team were Aden Holloway (2024) and Jabari Smith (2022).

Miles Kelly will lead the team in 3-point percentage

Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly will be Auburn’s secret weapon on offense. Coming off averaging 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets a season ago, Kelly’s experience will add deep depth to a loaded Auburn backcourt.

Kelly’s 184 career 3-point field goals made ranks ninth most in Georgia Tech history. After missing the Tigers first scrimmage against Furman, Kelly lit up the court for 15 points against Florida Atlantic. He was 4-for-8 from the floor drilling three 3-pointers.