Auburn Moves into Top Five in Basketball AP Poll

The Auburn Tigers get a solid boost in the polls with a strong showing to start the season

Auburn Tigers have soared to the Top Five in the AP Poll / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After winning both of their games to begin the season, one against a top-five opponent, the Auburn Tigers made a lead in the AP Poll.

Auburn checks in at No. 5 this week - six spots higher than their preseason ranking. The Tigers opened the 2024-25 campaign with a 94-43 victory over the Vermont Catamounts at home inside Neville Arena on Wednesday night.

Despite some off-court issues affecting its travel to Houston, Auburn made its presence known by picking up a 74-69 win over the fourth-ranked (now eighth-ranked) Cougars at Toyota Center.

Freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford helped pave the way for the Tigers in this signature win. Pettiford led all scorers with 21 points, narrowly beating out Johni Broome who had 20, and his five shots from beyond the arc.

Auburn is the second-highest-ranked SEC team in the nation this week, following the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. Apart from Alabama and Auburn, six other SEC teams checked into the top 25 this week: No. 11 Tennessee (+1), No. 18 Arkansas (-2), No. 19 Kentucky (+4), No. 20 Florida (+1), No. 23 Texas A&M (-10) and No. 25 Ole Miss (-1).

Texas A&M’s 10-spot-drop comes after the Aggies were upset by UCF on the road in Orlando. After is 64-61 win over the Aggies, UCF received 20 votes, the ninth-most of any unranked team.

Not including two potential games in the Maui Invitational, Auburn has 13 teams against ranked opponents remaining on its schedule. Nine of them are against SEC opponents, the other four in order are No. 7 Iowa State, No. 6 Duke, No. 21 Ohio State and No. 13 Purdue.

Auburn has one game ahead of the release of the next AP Poll. The Tigers host Kent State at Neville Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on ESPN+/SEC Network+.