After dropping into a road slump two weeks ago, Auburn basketball found its stride again, winning two straight in SEC play last week. As a result, the Tigers find themselves rising back up in the polls in the first full week of February.
Auburn has moved up to No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 12 in the Associated Press Poll. In the latest edition of the College Sports Wire power rankings, the Tigers have moved up three spots and back into the top 10 at the No. 10 position.
Auburn found a great amount of success last week, particularly in the second half. The Tigers defeated Vanderbilt by 27 at home, and then went on the road to pull out a comeback victory over Ole Miss by 14. Andy Patton places [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s squad as the second-highest-ranking SEC team, trailing only to No. 6 Tennessee. Purdue continues its reign at the top spot, with UConn, Houston, Kansas and North Carolina filling out the top five teams.
Alabama made the biggest jump of the week, rising from the depths of the unranked up to No. 15 after a pair of wins. Kentucky, meanwhile, dropped nine spots to No. 18 after losing to both Florida and Tennessee at home. South Carolina also moved up to No. 17 after road wins over the Volunteers and Georgia.
The Tigers have a major opportunity to increase its stock again this week with a rivalry quad 1 game against Alabama on Wednesday and a road trip to Florida on Saturday.
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