Auburn Misses Out on No. 1 Ranking Despite Purdue Win

Despite it's dominant win over the Boilermakers, Auburn is unable to get that last boost to top the AP Top 25

Auburn stays put in their current spot in the AP Poll / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers made no movement in the AP Poll this week, remaining at No. 2 for the fourth week in a row. Tennessee held on to the top spot, receiving 41 first-place votes to Auburn’s 21.

Auburn earned a dominant 87-69 win over No. 16 (now ranked No. insert) Purdue in the Battle for Birmingham at Legacy Arena on Saturday. The Tigers led by as many as 33 points in the second half.

Additionally, Auburn remains at No. 1 in the NET rankings and in KenPom. Auburn has six wins over Quad 1 opponents so far this season, making it the only team in college basketball that can say that. The Tigers did not earn their first Quad 1 win until February last season.

Auburn will not play a game before the release of the next AP Poll as it has started its holiday break and will not return to action until Monday, Dec. 30. 

The SEC led the country in ranked teams once again with 10 teams making the AP Poll. Apart from Tennessee and Auburn, the SEC teams who checked into the top 25 this week: No. 5 Alabama (+1), No. 6 Florida (+1), No. 10 Kentucky (-6), No. 12 Oklahoma (+2), No. 13 Texas A&M (-1), No. 16 Ole Miss (+1), No. 19 Mississippi State (unranked last week) and No. 23 Arkansas (unranked last week). 

Two SEC teams are receiving votes: Georgia (45) and Missouri (25).

Auburn has 11 games against ranked opponents remaining on its schedule, all of them coming in SEC play. Additionally, the Tigers will play two games against teams who are receiving votes.

Auburn rounds out its non-conference slate with a matchup against Monmouth on Dec. 30. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT and the television broadcast can be found on SEC Network+.