Auburn’s last foothold in the USA TODAY coaches poll is no more.
In last week’s poll, the Tigers held on to two measly votes after a loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, but a drubbing at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday was enough to seal Auburn’s fate. The Tigers are not featured in the poll’s top 25 and have no votes otherwise, which means that [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s squad has been entirely expunged from the rankings for the first time this season.
In the two games the most recent poll took into consideration, Auburn won a close matchup against an unranked Ole Miss team, 78-74 and dropped an ugly game on the road against the unranked Kentucky Wildcats 86-54. The Tigers will have one more shot to get back into the polls before tournament season, but chances are bleaker when their competition is taken into consideration — the team will face No. 14 Tennessee and No. 2 Alabama to close out the year, two teams Auburn has already lost to this season.
Check out the full USA TODAY Sports College Basketball Coaches Poll down below:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Houston | 27-2 | 794(27) | – |
| 2 | Alabama | 25-4 | 752 (2) | – |
| 3 | Kansas | 24-5 | 729 (3) | +1 |
| 4 | UCLA | 25-4 | 728 | -1 |
| 5 | Purdue | 24-5 | 630 | – |
| 6 | Marquette | 23-6 | 626 | +3 |
| 7 | Texas | 22-7 | 558 | +1 |
| 8 | Baylor | 21-8 | 527 | +2 |
| 9 | Arizona | 24-5 | 518 | -2 |
| 10 | Gonzaga | 25-5 | 515 | +2 |
| 11 | Kansas State | 22-7 | 469 | +5 |
| 12 | Virginia | 21-6 | 389 | -6 |
| 13 | Indiana | 20-9 | 362 | +4 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 21-8 | 353 | -1 |
| 15 | Miami | 23-6 | 349 | -4 |
| 16 | Saint Mary’s | 25-6 | 339 | -2 |
| 17 | Xavier | 21-8 | 274 | -2 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 22-7 | 254 | +5 |
| 19 | San Diego State | 23-5 | 251 | +1 |
| 20 | Providence | 21-8 | 239 | -2 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 21-8 | 113 | +4 |
| 22 | TCU | 19-10 | 109 | +4 |
| 23 | Creighton | 18-11 | 95 | -4 |
| 24 | Maryland | 20-9 | 82 | +6 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 21-8 | 64 | +3 |
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