The Auburn Tigers have claimed their highest ranking in the AP Poll in nearly two calendar years.
Bruce Pearl’s squad climbed up to No. 2 in the rankings following another undefeated week including victories over No. 5 Iowa State and No. 22 North Carolina. Auburn has not been ranked this high in the poll since February of 2022, when [autotag]Jabari Smith Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag], and the SEC Champion Tigers fell to the No. 2 spot after holding the nation’s No. 1 ranking for three consecutive weeks.
Auburn could not usurp the No. 1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks despite receiving 26 first-place votes, nine behind Kansas’ 35. The Tigers and Jayhawks were the only programs to receive the top nod from AP voters, and Auburn’s total points of 1,490 also finished just nine behind Kansas’s 1,499. While Bruce Pearl’s Tigers enter the week behind Bill Self’s squad, Auburn does have a key opportunity to pick up another fantastic ‘Quad 1’ victory in the ACC/SEC Challenge this Wednesday against No. 9 ranked Duke.
A win in Cameron Indoor Stadium could catapult [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and company ahead of Kanas. However, the Jayhawks have an identical, although less impressive, opportunity for a Quad 1 win on the road against Creighton on Wednesday. Both teams have easier, albeit still contentious, games to end their weeks. Auburn hosts Atlantic 10 program Richmond on Sunday while Kansas continues its road trip against Missouri.
Auburn is the top-ranked SEC program in this week’s AP Poll, checking in just ahead of Tennessee (No. 3) and Kentucky (No. 4). Alabama (No. 10), Florida (No. 13), Oklahoma (No. 21), Texas A&M (No. 22), and Ole Miss (No. 23), make up the other seven programs from the conference ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation. Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi State, and Georgia also received votes in the poll.
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