Auburn basketball loses top spot in latest AP Top 25 rankings

The Auburn Tigers dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the latest edition of the AP Top 25 Poll.

It was a short lived run, but it was a good one.

The Auburn Tigers (23-2, 11-1 SEC) lost their No. 1 ranking in this week's AP Top 25 Poll after losing to No. 23 Arkansas 80-76 in overtime last Wednesday. The Tigers moved down to No. 2.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (21-2) have now replaced Auburn as the No. 1 overall team in both the AP Poll and the NCAA Tournament Bracketology according to Joe Lunardi. While there is opportunity for Auburn to reclaim the top spot, Gonzaga will likely breeze through the remainder of their incredibly weak schedule and finish No. 1, whereas Auburn will struggle with more difficult games, as they have now for several weeks.

The Tigers have been on a little bit of a cold stretch as of late. Auburn's shooting has been subpar for various stretches this season, but it has been especially bad in SEC play. Despite being one of the most offensively efficient teams in the SEC (2nd, according to KenPom) Auburn is 13th in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage, shooting an abysmal 27.7% from beyond the arc. That number has to increase for Auburn to make a run in March.

The law of averages would indicate that Auburn can't stay cold forever, but after seeing a six game stretch of inefficient offense, I'm beginning to fear that the poor shooting is simply becoming reality for the Tigers now. Regardless, adjustments need to be made.

Auburn takes on Vanderbilt (13-11, 5-7 SEC) this Wednesday at 8 p.m. CST. Television broadcast is TBD.

Here is the latest AP Poll in its entirety.

1. Gonzaga (21-2)
2. Auburn (23-2)
3. Arizona (22-2)
4. Kentucky (21-4)
5. Purdue (22-4)
6. Kansas (20-4)
7. Baylor (21-4)
8. Providence (21-2)
9. Duke (21-4)
10. Villanova (19-6)
11. Texas Tech (19-6)
12. Illinois (18-6)
13. UCLA (17-5)
14. Houston (20-4)
15. Wisconsin (19-5)
16. Tennessee (18-6)
17. USC (21-4)
18. Ohio State (15-6)
19. Michigan State (18-6)
20. Texas (18-7)
21. Murray State (18-7)
22. Wyoming (21-3)
23. Arkansas (19-6)
24. Connecticut (17-7)
25. Alabama (16-9)