Another loss for Auburn doesn’t have the team’s prospects of re-entering the polls looking stellar.
Once again, the Tigers were not ranked in the newest iteration of the USA TODAY Sports Basketball Coaches Poll. Surprisingly, though, the team did still get two votes despite losing its latest match to the Vanderbilt Commodores 67-65 — it’s still a steep drop from the 13 votes the team received in last week’s iteration of the poll.
Auburn only has three games remaining to get back on track before the SEC and NCAA Tournaments begin to kick off in March. The team will play Ole Miss, who it has beaten previously this year, Kentucky and two vaunted SEC opponents in Alabama and Tennessee. A good stretch to close out the regular season against these opponents would do well for the Tigers’ resume, but Bruce Pearl’s squad will have to play better basketball than it has been recently if it hopes to make a splash before the postseason.
Take a look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports below:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Houston | 25-2 | 791 (24) | +1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 23-4 | 753 (6) | -1 |
| 3 | UCLA | 23-4 | 716 | +1 |
| 4 | Kansas | 22-5 | 693 (1) | +3 |
| 5 | Purdue | 24-4 | 669 | -2 |
| 6 | Virginia | 21-4 | 638 (1) | – |
| 7 | Arizona | 24-4 | 607 | +1 |
| 8 | Texas | 21-6 | 558 | -3 |
| 9 | Marquette | 21-6 | 515 | +1 |
| 10 | Baylor | 20-7 | 512 | -1 |
| 11 | Miami | 22-5 | 437 | +2 |
| 12 | Gonzaga | 23-5 | 431 | – |
| 13 | Tennessee | 20-7 | 398 | -2 |
| 14 | Saint Mary’s | 24-5 | 349 | +3 |
| 15 | Xavier | 20-7 | 309 | +1 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 20-7 | 299 | -2 |
| 17 | Indiana | 19-8 | 288 | -2 |
| 18 | Providence | 20-7 | 226 | +3 |
| 19 | Creighton | 18-9 | 225 | – |
| 20 | San Diego State | 21-5 | 180 | – |
| 21 | Iowa State | 17-9 | 174 | -3 |
| 22 | Northwestern | 20-7 | 148 | +4 |
| 23 | Connecticut | 20-7 | 128 | – |
| 24 | North Carolina St | 21-7 | 93 | -2 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 20-7 | 87 | – |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 24 Texas Christian
Others Receiving Votes
Texas Christian 64; Florida Atlantic 14; Pittsburgh 13; Duke 13; Maryland 10; Kentucky 8; Oral Roberts 6; Boise St. 6; Texas Tech 4; Iowa 4; Auburn 2; Rutgers 1; Oklahoma State 1
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