Birmingham, Alabama - Auburn basketball players Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome sent a clear message to the SEC at this year's Tipoff event: the Tigers are here to win.

"Winning championships," Williams said when asked about the team's expectations for next season.

The media has Auburn ranked sixth in the SEC, but Williams and Broome believe the Tigers have the talent and experience to compete for a championship.

"It's great," Bloom said when asked if people will sleep at Auburn." They can sleep if they want to. They'll wake up here soon enough."

Two of Auburn's top three scorers last year came from Williams and Bloom. Williams was named to the SEC preseason second-team last season and contributed 10.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Bloom is a mainstay inside, contributing 14.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 caps per game.

The Tigers also brought in a talented group of players from the transfer portal in the offseason, including Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara and Channy Johnson. Head coach Bruce Pearl is excited about the depth and competitiveness the newcomers bring to the team.

"I told the players last week that I would let them know who the starting five were this week," said Perl." No player has asked me. We have so much parity and competition at every position, I'm not sure they want to know - and I think that's a good thing."

"What sucks is that when the ball is thrown, our five guys probably aren't that much better than everybody else's five guys. But when I sit on the bench, I'm not going to give up. We're going to have a 10-man rotation. I've got some tough decisions to make because literally, I bet almost nine of those 10 guys will actually start."

Auburn doesn't just have a strong roster they also have experience. Eight of the 10 players in the projected rotation are seniors. No one is better than Williams. With one more win, he'll become the winningest player in Auburn basketball history.

"Whenever we win our first game," Williams said, "it will be very special for me and my family." I am fortunate to be able to share this with the Auburn family.

The only two young players in the rotation are both point guards: first-year Arden Holloway and sophomore Tre Donaldson. Pearl is excited about the young duo, but he knows they need to learn and grow quickly.

"I think the role of the quarterback is very important in the SEC," Perl joked." It's just a young position for us. They can all throw the ball. They can throw the ball as well as any point guard I've ever taken. The question is can they also organize the offense? Can they play defense?" "And? There's a lot more to determine."

"They're all very capable. There's something special about Aden from a player standpoint. Trey has some toughness and leadership skills. They're all going to be in the game."

Auburn's season opener is 20 days away. The Tigers will travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on No. 20 Baylor in a challenging opener they haven't experienced since Pearl has been head coach. But for Broome, Williams and the rest of the team, it's a chance to make a statement and, as Broome said, a wake-up call.