1. Auburn (15-1)
As if there wasn’t reason enough to have Auburn atop the rankings, these Tigers gave us even more reasons this past week. A team whose only loss came on the road against Duke, Auburn has answered nearly every question, fought hard against a myriad of strong opposition, and possess the nation’s most efficient offense that just keeps performing week after week.
This week’s challenges were on the road, starting with Tuesday night’s nice 87-82 win at Texas. Johni Broome had another classic effort with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Miles Kelly added 18 points as the Tigers notched their first road win of the season. They didn’t have to wait long for number two, as Auburn survived a challenge at South Carolina this weekend with a 66-63 victory. The Tigers didn’t have their best performance, but survived and got 15 points from Tahaad Pettitford to lead the charge.
Auburn had two close games this week, but winning a pair of road games in one week in the SEC is going to take a monumental effort and this team proved that they are a major force this season. Even when Broome struggles, or the offense isn’t firing on all cylinders, these Tigers did enough and continue their perfect start in league play. Next week sees them back at home against Mississippi State before heading out to Georgia; there are no easy games in the SEC.
We’re a week closer to March Madness and have even more information on these Top 25 teams in the nation, but do you agree with the rankings we’ve put together this week? Which teams are going to sink or swim in the weeks to come?