The Auburn Tigers just completed an overseas excursion to Greece, where they finished with a 1-1 record against KK Super MegaBet, a professional team from Serbia that competes in the ABA League. Returning pieces Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton shined in the games, with Pettiford connecting on 7-of-17 shots from the field and Overton averaging 16 points and making five three-point shots. Another bright spot was Troy transfer Thomas Dowd, who collected 28 rebounds over the two games and recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in Auburn's 92-71 win over KK Mega SuperBet on Saturday, Aug. 8. The bad news, though, is that Auburn fans must now wait over two months to watch the Tigers play again. Despite the layoff, experts are starting to voice their predictions on how Auburn will perform during the 2026-27 season, including ESPN. Myron Medcalf of ESPN released his predicted order of finish for SEC teams this upcoming season, along with each team's floor and ceiling. For Auburn, the gap between the floor and ceiling for Auburn is narrow, and so is their margin of error for postseason play. Medcalf predicts the Tigers to finish No. 11 in the SEC ahead of the second season of the Steven Pearl era, behind notable teams including Texas A&M, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas, and Florida, and ahead of LSU, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. Medcalf's best-case scenario for Auburn is a 25-win season, a three-win increase from last season's total, and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. However, the worst-case scenario for Auburn is a regression to 20 wins and another season without an NCAA Tournament bid. What could be the difference between the best and worst-case scenarios for Auburn? Finding a replacement for the outgoing Keyshawn Hall, who was the third piece of Auburn's "big three" last season
"But both Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton -- who combined to score 50 points in the team's win over Tulsa in the NIT championship -- are returning this season. The big question: Is there a replacement for Keyshawn Hall (19.3 PPG, 38% from 3)?" writes Medcalf.
Dowd made a strong case for being the third man during Auburn's trip to Greece, as did South Alabama transfer Adam Olson, who scored 12 points and logged seven rebounds in Auburn's win last Saturday. Auburn will also await the eligibility decisions for international signees Mantas Rubštavičius and Narcisse Ngoy, and the return of Creighton transfer Owen Freeman, who was held out of Auburn's games in Greece due to injury. Auburn has plenty of questions surrounding them, but those questions could be answered rather quickly. The Tigers open the 2026-27 season in Birmingham for an exhibition game on Oct. 14 against Florida State. The full schedule will be released at a later date.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__ This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: What is Auburn basketball's ceiling for the 2026-27 season?