Once again, the Auburn Tigers were unable to claim the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll this week. With Bruce Pearl’s squad, and many other programs, dormant this week due to winter break on college campuses, movement among ranked teams was highly unlikely to begin with.
Still, the now 12-1 Tigers are considered the best team in the country by most experts without a vote in the AP’s weekly ranking. Most importantly, Johni Broome and company continue to lead the ‘NET Rankings’. by a wide margin with 6 ‘Quad 1’ victories, 6 neutral site victories, and one, highly-respected road loss to Duke, who is ranked third in the NET and fourth in the AP.
Despite all the other accolades and top rankings, Auburn would love to earn the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll for historical reasons. The Tigers have not been given the title by the Associated Press since the 2021-2022 season, when the Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler-led Auburn squad spent three weeks ranked in the top spot from late January to mid-February. Auburn’s “bar” for sustained sucsess in the AP Poll came in the 1999-2000 season, when the Tigers spent 13 weeks ranked in the top 10. Considering how much love Bruce Pearl has shown for college basketball history, I’m sure he has his eyes on breaking both of those long-standing records this season.
In order to claim the top spot the Tigers will likely need a loss from No. 1 ranked Tennessee. Along with the Volunteers, Alabama (5), Florida (6), and Kentucky (10), make up the five programs from the SEC ranked among the top 10 in the AP Poll. Oklahoma (12), Texas A&M (13), Mississippi State (17), Arkansas (23), and Ole Miss (24), finish out the ridiculously impressive list of ranked teams in the SEC.
The conference finishing with a 40% share of the AP Poll is unlikely with cannibalization coming in conference play, but teams at the top should have every chance to stay there with nearly every conference game presenting itself as a ‘Quad 1 opportunity’. As it currently stands, every road contest played in the SEC, excluding the few in South Carolina, will be considered top-tier victories.
Given that opportunity, Auburn could rise to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll as soon as next week. To do so, the Tigers will have to take care of business against Missouri and Texas.
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