Auburn Drops in AP Poll Ahead of Tournament
The Auburn Tigers dropped again in the latest AP Top 25. They were ranked fourth, falling behind the No. 3 Florida Gators, No. 2 Houston Cougars and No. 1 Duke Blue Devils. This news comes out a day after the Tigers were made the No. 1 overall seed. This is the first time the Tigers have been this far back since Week 4 of the regular season where they were also the No. 4 team in the nation. However, the Tigers had yet to lose a game at that point.
The reason the Tigers have dropped is due to the last stretch of games in the regular season and their performance in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers started the last week of the regular season with a loss to the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas. Just a few days later, they lost to in-state rival, the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide in Auburn. These pair of losses dropped the Tigers to No. 2 in the AP Poll, just behind Duke.
Auburn remained the one-seed in the SEC Tournament and got a double bye. They also got the easier side of the tournament’s bracket, not having to face Alabama, Florida or Kentucky. The Tigers won their opening game of the SEC tournament against the Ole Miss Rebels. However, that was expected. They faced the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers in the semifinals. The Volunteers were the four-seed and had also received a double bye in the tournament. The Tigers weren’t able to keep up with Zakai Zeigler and the Volunteers. It was their third loss in four games.
The third loss ultimately dropped the Tigers behind the Gators who went on to beat the Volunteers in the SEC Tournament championship game. The Tigers head to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, but the No. 4 in the AP Poll.
