Auburn stays at No. 2 in latest AP poll, closes gap on No. 1 Tennessee
AUBURN — Auburn basketball remained No. 2 in the latest AP poll released on Monday.
But, the Tigers closed the gap on No. 1 Tennessee. Auburn received 12 first-place votes, up from three last week. Tennessee received 50 first-place votes, down from 58 last week.
For three weeks now, the Tigers have almost reached No. 1 for the first time since the 2021-22 season and the second time in program history. Auburn spent three weeks at No. 1 that season and hopes to land back at No. 1 again this season.
Auburn’s other big wins rank: No. 3 Iowa State, No. 15 Houston and No. 21 Memphis. The Tigers’ only loss is at No. 5 Duke.
Auburn has five Quad I wins in 10 games.
The Tigers will have another shot at jumping into the No. 1 spot on Saturday, with a neutral-site game against No. 16 Purdue in Birmingham. Purdue ranks No. 20 in Torvik, No. 21 in KenPom and No. 34 in NET.
Tennessee doesn’t have another significant non-conference game until SEC play begins.
Auburn jumped to No. 2 after winning the Maui Invitational. They remained there after losing at No. 5 Duke by six points and beating Richmond at home by 44 points, and remain there again after whipping the Buckeyes.
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The Tigers also rank No. 1 in the latest computer ratings of KenPom, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Torvik and EvanMiya, and are also No. 1 in the latest NCAA NET ratings. Auburn is already 5-1 in Quad I games and has potentially 16 more Quad I opportunities remaining this season.
The Tigers’ KenPom rating, at this point in the season in mid-December, is the highest in the history of KenPom.
As of now, every road SEC game will be a Quad I opportunity outside of South Carolina.
And the gauntlet of tough non-conference games is still ongoing. Auburn will play No. 16 Purdue in Birmingham on December 21. The Tigers still have Georgia State on December 17 and Monmouth on December 30 inside Neville Arena.
SEC play begins on on January 4 with a home game against Missouri.
