Despite not being ranked No. 1 in this week’s AP poll, there’s very little debate among NCAA men’s college coaches as to which team has been the most dominant through the first six weeks of the season.

The Auburn Tigers rank No. 1 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), at KenPom, in Bart Torvik’s rankings and in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. They’re also No. 1 in ESPN’s Strength of Record and in Wins Above Bubble. As Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated pointed out on X last weekend, Auburn’s current KenPom net efficiency rating is the highest any team has been at this point in the season since at least the 2011-12 campaign — by an enormous margin.

We reached out to a number of college basketball coaches to get their thoughts on the most impressive early-season teams and players they’ve seen — and the dominance of star big man Johni Broome and Auburn was a common response. Here’s more of what these coaches see from Auburn, as well as some of the other teams and players who stand out so far.

The complete dominance of Auburn and Broome

“They’re great offensively,” one coach who faced Auburn said. “It’s really simple stuff. You can’t let Broome get in the short roll, you need to have a plan for the flex action because everything ends up in some kind of flex action. And then they just say, we’re going to get it up on the rim and we’re going to send bodies in there and you just get a little bit physically overwhelmed, no matter how much you prepare for it. They’ve got big dudes going in there, bodies are flying, and it turns into a physical game. They can win in a lot of different ways.”

“They’re really, really hard to play,” another coach added. “The amount of things they have in their toolbox, from the way they deny to the fullest extent to the way they don’t allow you to get in an easy rhythm up the floor. They just stretch your special teams in a way very few teams can. In your prep for them, you almost get distracted by the totality of what they are. You have to spend so much time on minutiae that for other teams, you don’t have to. They’re so good at top-locking and denying. They use their physicality to disrupt any kind of flow that you’ve got going.”

At the heart of it all is Broome — about whom at the moment coach Bruce Pearl is holding his breath. Broome left Tuesday night’s game against Georgia State in the first half with a right shoulder injury and didn’t return. He sat on the bench in the second half with his arm in a sling. Pearl said after the game they’ll know more as the week progresses but they hope he’ll be OK.

The Tigers don’t want to think about losing the 6-foot-10 senior forward, who has been the nation’s best player through the first six weeks of the season. Entering Tuesday night, Broome was averaging a career-high 19.7 points and 12.7 rebounds, the latter ranking No. 1 in the country. He was also adding 3.8 assists and 2.8 blocks, shooting nearly 56% from the field and making a 3-pointer per game.

“Broome is the Player of the Year,” one coach said. “I think he’s in unbelievable shape right now. His conditioning level compared to years past is a different level. He’s able to sustain this super-high level of intensity and efficiency. Sometimes he would settle for low-percentage shots out of fatigue; this year, he’s not bailing the defense out. He’s giving more effort on the defensive end. He’s not a stopper, but his hands are so good in the post. He’s like a boxer with a great jab, you never really get into him.”

“He’s making 3s,” another opposing coach added. “Our biggest thing was trying to keep him off the glass and not letting him get the ball in the short roll. If you let him catch it in the pocket, he can pass it, he can score, he can draw fouls. He makes the right play. It’s hard to take away. You kind of gotta go away from your normal defensive principles to game-plan for him. He can dominate a game without the basketball and you can’t plan for that.”

Coaches were quick to point out that it’s not just Broome. Pearl’s team has the nation’s No. 1 offense, the Tigers can take care of the ball better than nearly every team in the country, they’re an elite rebounding unit and they shoot better than 38% from 3-point range. Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson have been great complements to Broome up front, Denver Jones has developed into a table setter, while veteran Chad Baker-Mazara is the ultimate X factor.

And then there has been the emergence of freshman point guard Tahaad Pettiford, a top-50 recruit from the 2024 class. He has yet to start a game this season, but he’s averaging 11.1 points off the bench and has been one of the best big-game freshmen in the country: 21 points against Houston in the second game of his career, 14 points against Iowa State, 20 points at Duke. “Everything goes according to script and Pettiford totally changes the complexion of the game,” one coach said. “I’ve been surprised at the consistency. He has not looked freshman-ish in the biggest of moments.

“I knew how talented he was offensively, but the thing that surprised me was how well he played against Duke, Iowa State and Houston,” said another. “You don’t know how they’re going to be in those moments. To go down to Houston and do what he did, did it at Cameron Indoor Stadium, did it to Iowa State. He has always been a fearless scorer, but to do it on some of the bigger stages?”

Tennessee’s post-Dalton Knecht success

Last season, Tennessee rode an elite defense, a much-improved offense and Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht to its first SEC regular-season title since 2018. But after losing Knecht — the best player in college basketball not named Zach Edey — the Volunteers have an even better offense and are ranked No. 1 in this week’s AP poll.

They’ve won 10 of 11 games by at least 13 points, with last weekend’s impressive two-point road win at Illinois — on Jordan Gainey‘s coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer — the lone exception.

The offense hasn’t missed a beat. A year after Knecht was the best transfer in the country, Rick Barnes might have landed the best transfer in the country again in former North Florida guard Chaz Lanier, the team’s leading scorer.

“He was one of the most efficient players last year and that’s continued at Tennessee,” one opposing coach said. “He picked the perfect place, a system that’s a tremendous fit for him. They move him around a lot. He’s always coming off a pin down, a stagger, which creates shots for him. He makes difficult shots too, guys draped all over him. He makes you pay for a defensive mistake. You shortcut a screen and don’t chase, he makes you pay.”

Tennessee’s defense, which has ranked in the top five nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency in each of the past five seasons, is still elite — and ranked No. 1 in the country entering Tuesday’s game. Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack are two of the premier perimeter defenders in college basketball and Felix Okpara is a stalwart down low.

“It always starts with personnel,” an opposing coach said. “Barnes has done a good job recruiting guys that defend. Guys that move laterally, that have a level of toughness, a level of physicality about them. But he also creates that. Their identity is clearly on the defensive side. They have multiple-effort guys. Some of the plays they make, they’re scrambling, rotating, blocking shots. They’re not a one-effort team. They cover for mistakes.”

UConn’s rebound after three-game losing streak

The biggest story of the first month of the season was UConn, the two-time reigning national champions, losing three games in three days at the Maui Invitational, nearly falling out of the AP poll. Since then, the Huskies have rattled off four wins in a row — including victories over Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga.

“The UConn confidence, the swagger they have, they found it,” one coach who scouted the Huskies said. “They’re back to where they’ve been the last [24] months.”

So what’s changed?

It starts on the defensive end of the floor. In the three losses in Hawai’i, UConn allowed its opponents to shoot 51.6% inside the arc and an eye-popping 52.7% from 3. In the four games since, the Huskies’ opponents are shooting 44.6% from 2 and 34.4% from 3.

“They’ve shored up their defense,” one opposing coach said. “I saw it against Baylor for parts, 100% against Texas, 100% against Gonzaga. Part of it is the Maui rims; those things have always helped over the years. But it’s better execution, better effort at that end of the floor. [Hassan] Diarra has always guarded, [Alex] Karaban knows what he’s doing, [Liam] McNeeley has improved defensively, [Solo] Ball has improved, the two bigs are getting better at protecting the rim with a lot less fouling. The foul situations that led to some of their lineups in Maui were crazy.”

While Karaban’s return from injury has been a huge boost, the emergence of McNeeley — the five-star freshman from Montverde Academy (Florida) — has a chance to be a ceiling changer for UConn. McNeeley had his breakout performance against Gonzaga over the weekend, finishing with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers.

“[Dan] Hurley and his staff put him in great situations,” an opposing coach said. “He has a great balance of different ways to score. The shooting is real, he’s amped up on the glass — he can really score off putbacks. They do a really good job creating areas for him to drive. He can finish at the rim, draws fouls, he can turn them into backdowns at his size. They’re doing what they always do. They get their guys better at the parts of the game they’re going to use, then put them in positions to use [those tools].”

Cooper Flagg‘s Duke defense

Flagg entered the season with more hype than any prospect in the past few years. The projected No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, the Maine native isn’t putting up otherworldly numbers — 15.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.5 steals entering Tuesday night — but he has been at his best in Duke’s biggest games. He went for 26 and 11 in a loss to Kentucky, 24 and 7 at Arizona, 22 and 11 against Auburn and 20 and 12 against Louisville.

His biggest weakness at the high school level — perimeter shooting — has continued to be an issue, as he’s shooting just 22.2% from 3-point range, but the ways in which he was expected to impact the game have translated.

“The one thing that really stands out is his motor,” one coach who faced Duke said. “For a freshman to play with that level of intensity, with his physicality, his athleticism — he just plays hard. He stands out. He makes tough shots. He does a great job of drawing fouls. He gets a good whistle because he creates and draws contact. He’s a high-level rebounder, he makes pretty good decisions with the ball, he’s a really good playmaker. He just impacts winning on both ends of the floor.

Flagg is also a reason Duke has one of the elite defenses in college basketball. The Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency until a couple of days ago, when they fell all the way to No. 2. They defend inside the arc at a high level, ranking fifth nationally in 2-point percentage defense and fourth in overall field goal percentage defense. They limit fast-break points, paint points and second-chance points, ranking in the top 20 nationally in each of those categories defensively.

“A lot of it has to do with their size, they’re the tallest team in the country,” an opposing coach said. “They have the ability to switch at multiple positions. They have certain lineups they put out there, where they can switch one through five. It makes them so unique defensively. Their size bothers every team. They might not lose in the ACC because of their size and ability to hold teams to certain percentages. They’re a good rebounding group, they don’t give up a ton of offensive rebounds, they contest everything at the rim. They do a pretty job contesting 3s. It’s a little bit of everything. Guys that size that are mobile, it makes their defense so much better.”

The emergence of Marquette’s Kam Jones

How could Shaka Smart possibly replace do-everything All-American Tyler Kolek, one of the best point guards in the country last season? Turns out it was pretty simple: Move Jones over to the point guard spot and have him become the best backcourt player in college basketball.

Jones, who was productive as Kolek’s sidekick the past two seasons, has been nothing short of sensational through the first six weeks of the season. He’s averaging 20.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.4 assists, shooting 57.1% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range. Jones had a triple-double against Purdue and went for 32 points and six assists against Wisconsin.

“It’s his pace, you can’t speed him up,” one coach who faced Marquette said. “He plays at his own pace. You can do whatever you want, he says ‘I’m going to do this at this speed.’ He’s going to play off two feet, he’s going to go slow to fast. He’s not fast, he doesn’t have immense burst, but he operates ball screens, he makes the right read. He makes the right play over and over again. He’s an experienced guard. You can tell. The game has slowed down for him out there.”

Multiple coaches said the game plan against Jones is pretty simple: Try to take away his left hand and when he goes right, he’s spinning back. But it hasn’t really mattered.

“Those aren’t secrets. Everyone knows it, it’s a matter of stopping it,” one coach said. “You have to try to wear him down with bodies, use ball-pressure and physicality. He’s going to make hard shots and he’s going to find guys most guys can’t find. He’s a special player. You go in saying, ‘We’re going to turn him over. We’re not going to let him get here.’ Man, he’s doing whatever he wants out there.”

Perhaps the only time he was outplayed this season was against Iowa State’s Keshon Gilbert — and Jones still finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists.

Mark Pope’s early Kentucky success

On paper, Mark Pope’s task in his first season at Kentucky had a high level of difficulty. Zero returning scholarship players, nine incoming transfers, three incoming freshmen … not to mention the highest expectations in the sport.

Six weeks into the season, Pope is making it look easy. The Wildcats are ranked in the top five nationally, with neutral-court wins over Duke and Gonzaga and a rivalry victory over Louisville. The one defeat came at Clemson earlier this month.

And they’re doing it the way Pope did it at BYU and Utah Valley: Play with pace and shoot a lot of 3s.

“They’re hard to guard,” one coach said. “They run great stuff, they really spread you out. He gives them the ultimate freedom and the ultimate green light. He instills confidence in them. They come at you from all angles. The 3-point percentage numbers aren’t great, but they shoot so many of them. Lamont [Butler] is shooting it well, [Koby] Brea led the country last season, Jaxson Robinson shoots more than both of those guys. … And there’s the unrelenting pace they play with. It just doesn’t stop. Some teams play fast the first four minutes, the first eight minutes, then the coach pulls it back. Pope doesn’t do that. And he’s got the horses.”

The X factor is Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr, who started his career at Delaware. He’s the team’s fifth-leading scorer, but he has been the difference-maker — and arguably the most important player on the floor — in the key wins over Duke and Gonzaga. He made huge plays late in both contests, and Pope utilizes him as a chess piece to cause matchup problems when he moves him to the center spot.

“His size and his skill set, he’s really unique, he can play on the perimeter, but he can flash and cut in there or space it with shooting,” one coach who scouted Kentucky said. “Carr at the 5 really changes how you can guard them. He did it against Duke, did it against Gonzaga. Did it at the end of the half against Clemson. Offensively, it’s a really scary lineup to face. Now it’s five guys that can make 3s.”

Iowa State’s offensive improvement

Since T.J. Otzelberger took over in Ames in 2021, Iowa State has been known for its defense. The Cyclones ranked fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency in Otzelberger’s first season, eighth in 2022-23 and led the nation last season. They were ranked seventh entering Tuesday night’s action.

But the offense has been an issue, with the propensity to get bogged down for long stretches. The Cyclones ranked ninth in the Big 12 last season in points per possession and simply didn’t have the firepower to beat Illinois in the NCAA tournament.

This season is different. Iowa State is third in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency and has scored 81 points against Marquette, 81 points against Auburn, 89 points against Dayton and 89 points against Iowa. The two biggest factors: Pace and frontcourt scoring.

“They’re playing a lot faster in transition,” one coach who scouted Iowa State each of the past two seasons said. “They’re pushing it, it’s full-go. Guy gets a rebound and goes.”

“The two guys who have had the most impact for them are Dishon Jackson and Joshua Jefferson,” said one opposing coach of Iowa State’s two frontcourt transfers. “Last year, their bigs were elite defensively, but not great offensively. Those two guys can really score the ball. That’s why they’ve turned the corner; one through five can bother you. They’re not so one-dimensional where you can focus on their guards. You have to key on all five guys and, really, their top seven guys can have good games. They have the ability to fill it up a little bit.”

Senior guard Keshon Gilbert’s development into an All-American this season has been a huge boost for the Cyclones, too. He’s averaging 16.4 points and 5.0 assists and went toe-to-toe with Marquette’s Kam Jones and came out on top. He had 24 points and seven assists (with just one turnover) against the Golden Eagles and also went for 23 points in Iowa State’s loss to Auburn.

“He’s super talented, he makes tough shots,” one coach said. “The one area that stands out for me is his 2-point finishing ability. His ability to finish amongst the bigs in the paint. His physicality around the rim for a guy his size is really impressive. He makes tough 2-point baskets, he gets to the foul line, he makes really good decisions.”