They may not have their own physical seatbelt walking into games like Auburn starting safety Jaylin Simpson had during the 2023 football season, but Auburn’s basketball players are copying the celebration.

Center Dylan Cardwell did it at midcourt in front of the whole student section in the second half after forcing a USC turnover. Cardwell’s defense in Auburn’s 91-75 win over USC was among the most highlight-reel-worthy, but also emblematic of how improved Auburn has been on that end of the floor.

Auburn is one of four teams rated in the top 15 nationally by KenPom for both offensive and defensive efficiency. The other three teams are Purdue, Arizona and UConn. All three are ranked in the top five of the Associated Press top 25 poll as of Sunday.

But it took some time for Auburn to get there.

Asked what he was most concerned about entering the 2023 season, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said it was his team’s defense. Asked what cost Auburn a season-opening 88-82 loss to Baylor, and Pearl again blamed his defense.

From the earliest talk of the season, it appeared Auburn had an elite offense and a defense that would hold it back.

But now 10 games into the season, the question a reporter asked Pearl after beating USC was reflective of Auburn developing into a team where defense can be a strength.

Pearl’s answer centered on his big men.

“When they got to the rim, you’ve got Johni (Broome) or Dylan or Jaylin Williams or Chaney (Johnson) or Chad (Baker-Mazara) or Chris Moore — we’ve got size and length to protect the rim,” Pearl said. “our bigs can step out on the perimeter, and they can guard. Our big guys can get out there and do it. The key is to just not take possessions off, to get offense from your defense and to play hard every night.”

Auburn has defensive specialists like Chris Moore already, but has seen great improvements from across its main 10-man rotation.

The depth of Auburn has mostly been seen with well-balanced offense — all 11 Tigers who saw the court scored against USC. But Williams noted how it helps the defense, too.

“We do our press, and at the beginning, it may not show how much it affects them,” Williams said after beating USC. “But it makes them tired. It makes us tired, too, but we know we have a bench that can come in and keep doing the same thing. And we can be on the bench and get our breath back. And just keep doing that continuously. I would say just getting after them and trying to make them uncomfortable is the key.”

Because Auburn has depth, Williams and others can expend more effort defensively because they are only doing it in short shifts. It resembles a hockey shift, so to speak.

It’s a defense that has utilized press, man-to-man and zone looks. It was the zone that gave Auburn a chance to win at all against Appalachian State on Dec. 3.

USC guard Boogie Ellis scored 22 points in the loss, but in other than a one-on-one in the first half between Broome and USC guard Isaiah Collier, Auburn didn’t find itself in many bad matchups against USC’s talented backcourt.

Auburn’s defense has done well at eliminating an opposing team’s best player. Keeping Indiana’s Kel’el Ware to only two made shots in Auburn’s Dec. 9 win is a key example.

And the defense hasn’t allowed more than 80 points since the loss to Baylor. In the nine games since Baylor, Auburn has kept its opponents to fewer than 65 points on five occasions.

It’s why Auburn is averaging a 21.5-point average margin of victory.

The Tigers are top 25 in the nation in block percentage and field goal percentage allowed on two-point shots. Auburn is 13th nationally in effective field goal percentage allowed. That’s the interior rim protectors Pearl mentioned.

And Auburn has been so good at protecting the rim despite not always being the tallest team. KenPom notes Auburn’s average height as barely inside the top 100 nationally. Yet, it found success against two of the five tallest teams in the nation: Indiana and USC.

Auburn’s defense is the third-best adjusted efficiency rate in the SEC behind Tennessee and Mississippi State. But Auburn plays far better offense than both those teams.

Computer analytics have loved Auburn thus far. The Tigers are ranked eighth overall in America by KenPom.

Auburn will play three more non-conference home games before traveling to Arkansas for the Jan. 6 SEC opener. That balance will matter as the season grows.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]