Auburn men’s basketball’s regular season didn’t end the way it had hoped, losing back-to-back games in the final week.
The losses came to Texas A&M on the road and Alabama in the home finale on a buzzer-beater by Mark Sears. Auburn had already wrapped up the Southeastern Conference regular season title, but now no longer hold the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll.
Duke jumped Auburn for the top spot, and the 27-4 Tigers now rank third in the country going into the SEC Tournament. Along with Duke, Houston also jumped Auburn, moving up to No. 2 from No. 3.It’s the first time since Jan. 6 that Auburn hasn’t been ranked No. 1, ending the longest streak in program history at eight weeks.
Texas A&M and Alabama moved up eight and two spots, respectively, after knocking off the then No. 1 team in the country. Seven SEC teams are ranked in this week’s poll, with Auburn, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee landing in the top 10.
Auburn will start SEC Tournament play Friday facing either Ole Miss, Arkansas or South Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised on ESPN.
