Auburn Tigers Check In at No. 11 in Preseason AP Poll, Face Daunting Schedule

Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers will face virtually the rest of the Top 25 at some point this season.

Bruce Pearl has challenged his Auburn Tigers to one of the toughest schedules in the country. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Following a season that ended with a SEC Tournament Championship immediately followed by a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament, the Auburn Tigers will open the 2024-25 campaign as the No. 11 team in the country in the first AP Poll of the season.

Auburn is coming off a season where it went 27-8 overall, 13-5 in conference play, and earned a spot as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament before being upset by Yale in Spokane, Wash., ending a run that many believed would see the Tigers make it at least to the Sweet 16.

Auburn’s No. 11 ranking makes the Tigers the second-highest-ranked team in the SEC behind the No. 2 Alabama.

Six additional SEC teams also earned a spot in the inaugural AP Poll for the 2024-25 season: No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas, No. 21 Florida, No. 23 Kentucky and No. 24 Ole Miss.

Head coach Bruce Pearl has challenged his Tigers with one of the toughest schedules in the country. They're scheduled to take on nearly half of the top 25 this year. That number could rise to over half, depending who they get matched with in the Maui Invitational.

Currently on Auburn's schedule: No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 7 Duke, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Purdue, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas, No. 21 Florida, No. 23 Kentucky, and No. 24 Ole Miss.

Auburn could also see No. 3 UConn and No. 9 UNC in Maui.

Per Matthew Wallace, this is the ninth time Auburn has been included in the preseason AP Poll. This is the highest starting position the Tigers have had since opening at No. 11 in 2018, a season that ended in the program's first ever trip to the Final Four.

In addition to the first AP Poll of the season being released, the first KenPom rankings of the season have also come out. The Tigers are highly thought of in these rankings, coming in at No. 3 in the country behind Houston and Duke, two opponents Auburn will take on this season.

Auburn officially opens the season against Vermont inside Neville Arena on Nov. 6. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and the television broadcast can be found on SEC Network+.

Click here to view Auburn’s complete 2024-25 schedule.