It’s been an uneven week for multiple teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Iowa State, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Marquette and Kentucky all have single digits next to their names (in the AP poll for now) but lost as favorites this week.
Auburn was fine, though.
Even though the Tigers had two games against ranked opponents — one at home, one on the road — and were without their best player (Johni Broome), they still completed a 2-0 week. First, on Tuesday, they pounded Mississippi State 88-66. Then, on Saturday, they won 70-68 at Georgia to extend their winning streak to 10 games and remain No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
“Just a great win” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after his Tigers held on for the two-point victory that featured the Bulldogs missing two potential game-tying shots in the final seven seconds. “Road wins are hard to come by in this league — especially road wins against one of your arch-rivals and a ranked team like Georgia. I thought that getting off to the start that we got off to sent a very strong message that we did not come here without our best player to [just] try to give you a great fight. We came here to try to win the game.”
With the win, Auburn is now 17-1 and in possession of a national-best 10 Quadrant 1 victories heading into a stretch where the Tigers have no mid-week game. That’s obviously huge considering Broome, a projected First Team All-American, remains sidelined with an ankle injury suffered in last weekend’s win at South Carolina.
Will Broome play Saturday vs. Tennessee?
That remains unclear.
Either way, the Tigers’ showdown with UT will provide our latest edition of Pearl coaching against the school he led to a No. 1 ranking in February 2008. Now, Pearl has Auburn ranked No. 1 for the second time in a four-year span, enhancing his Hall of Fame-worthy credentials. But Pearl will likely have to beat his old school Saturday to keep that No. 1 ranking — especially with Duke, the only team that’s beaten Auburn so far this season, on a 12-game winning streak that has the Blue Devils up to No. 2 in the Top 25 And 1.