Bruce Pearl and top-ranked Auburn are 2-0 without star forward Johni Broome, who hopes to make his return on Saturday night.

Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Texas also made USA TODAY Sports’ first projected field of 68, giving the SEC a total of 11 NCAA Tournament teams. Texas is the lowest-ranked seed and would be play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, in these projections.

The Auburn Tigers needed a Johni Broome sized spark to get by the 6th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night

Bruce Pearl is hopeful that Auburn forward Johni Broome will make his return for Saturday night's top-10 showdown against No. 6 Tennessee.

The Missouri Tigers get a welcomed week off from the Southeastern Conference basketball wars after winning five of their first seven games in league play.

Auburn Tigers men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl sent a fiery message on social media on Sunday in response to a video that apparently showed Hamas terrorists handing over three Israeli hostages ...

Predictions, picks and odds as No. 7 Tennessee basketball faces Auburn. Plus, injury updates and the latest news

Texas Tech made its Top 25 season debut at No. 22 after beating Cincinnati and Oklahoma State to run its Big 12 winning streak to four games. Vanderbilt entered the poll at No. 24 for the first time since Dec. 7, 2015, as the women's team also cracked the poll this week for the first time since 2014.

Auburn has bolted out to a 17-1 start that includes a 5-0 Southeastern Conference record in Bruce Pearl's 11th season on the Plains. The two most recent Auburn victories transpired without Johni Broome, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound center/forward who is averaging 17.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 blocked shots per game.

Auburn continues to reside in the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after surviving a scare Saturday against Tennessee. Kentucky wasn't

Pearl has been named SEC midseason coach of the year by Shaw. With 12 games remaining in the regular season, Auburn is 18-1 overall and 6-0 in SEC play. The Tigers also boast an 11-1 mark over Quad-1 competition in the NCAA net rankings; eight wins came against ranked competition.