Rob Dauster on Auburn: ‘I think they’re the biggest fraud in the country, honestly’
Texas A&M’s Tyrece Radford scored 30 points and led the Aggies over No. 15 Auburn 79-63 on Wednesday night, ending the nation’s longest active home winning streak at 28 games.
With the loss came a discussion about how good Bruce Pearl’s team really is.
During Wednesday night’s “Field of 68″ show, host Rob Dauster made the case why he thought Auburn’s the “biggest fraud in the country.”
The Tigers are 16-4 overall and 6-2 in the SEC. Dauster pointed out the Tigers’ NET ranking of 23, a drop from 13.
Their KenPom ranking has dropped from No. 16 to No. 24 with the loss.
“But their best wins are Arkansas at home and they beat Northwestern on a neutral. They beat Florida. They beat Mississippi State. They haven’t really beaten anyone that jumps out at you.
“I’ll say this, so you guys don’t have to say this: ‘I think Auburn’s the biggest fraud in the country in terms of where they are ranked and what their metrics are compared to what they are as a team.”
Four of Auburn’s wins during the home win streak came against opponents ranked in the AP top-25, making each of those Quadrant 1 wins in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
Randolph Childress, former Wake Forest and NBA player, pointed to the loss of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler from a year ago. So, he actually gives the Tigers the benefit of the doubt.
“I don’t think they’re a top-15 team in the country, but you have to give them credit,” he said. “They are beating who they are supposed to beat. Have they got the signature win? They don’t, but they’re not losing to bad team. They are taking care of business.”
He admits that wasn’t the case Wednesday night, but “this team lost two first-round draft picks. That’s hard to overcome. They lost their front line. That’s a hell of a lot of production they lost. They’re having a good year for what they lost.”
Former college coach Chris Mack said this year’s squad is much like most Pearl teams.
“Their 16-4,” he said. “That’s Bruce’s M.O. He usually doesn’t schedule top-5, top-10 teams or these neutral site matchups. You don’t see Auburn in those type of things for the most part. They’ll play an exempt every once in a while. He’s gonna schedule good mid-majors. He’s gonna stay away from the 300 NET schools and he’s gonna be 12-1 when he walks into his conference schedule.
“They are still at the top of the standings in the SEC. There’s a long way to go. He’s gonna shorten the game. They’re gonna run and if they don’t have anything, they’re gonna do their little flex action. … He’s gonna get his team to play hard, a Bruce Pearl staple.
Mack said Auburn is a top 25 or 30 team.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.