Auburn basketball fights off Duke, Florida for top spot in USA TODAY Coaches Poll

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As the regular season begins to wind down, the Auburn Tigers keep finding ways to win.

Auburn fought off upset attempts by Arkansas and Georgia last week to improve its record to 25-2 on the season, which keeps them at the top spot in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll for the second-straight week.

Auburn earned 28 of 30 first-place votes in this week’s poll, with Duke climbing back into the No. 2 slot with two first-place votes. The Blue Devils jumped Florida after earning convincing wins over Virginia and Illinois over the week. The Gators remain a top team to watch as they have won six straight games, including one over Auburn, since falling to Tennessee on the road on Feb. 1.

Eight SEC teams grace this week’s poll, with four in the top 10. Tennessee and Alabama join Auburn and Florida at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively while Texas A&M is outside of the top 10 at No. 11. Missouri remains at No. 16 while Kentucky falls to No. 23 after dropping a game to Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Mississippi State rounds out the SEC’s representation at No. 24.

Auburn will be challenged over the next two weeks as three of its final four regular-season opponents are ranked in this week’s top 25. Auburn faces No. 23 Kentucky on Saturday at Rupp Arena, and will close out the season with a road game at No. 11 Texas A&M and a home contest with No. 6 Alabama to round out the regular season.

Here is a look at this week’s USA TODAY Coaches Poll top 25

Rank

Team

Record

Points

1

Auburn

25-2

748 (28)

2

Duke

24-3

708 (2)

3

Florida

24-3

693

4

Houston

23-4

660

5

Tennessee

22-5

610

6

Alabama

22-5

607

7

St. John’s

24-4

571

8

Michigan State

22-5

512

9

Iowa State

21-6

492

10

Texas Tech

21-6

467

11

Texas A&M

20-7

438

12

Wisconsin

21-6

384

13

Michigan

20-6

377

14

Clemson

22-5

352

15

Maryland

21-6

326

16

Missouri

20-7

263

17

Louisville

21-6

241

18

Memphis

22-5

205

19

Purdue

19-9

175

20

Saint Mary’s

25-4

173

21

Arizona

18-9

159

22

Marquette

20-7

150

23

Kentucky

18-9

137

24

Mississippi State

19-8

89

25

Creighton

19-8

43

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/auburn-basketball-fights-off-duke-190046305.html

Author : Auburn Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-24 19:00:00

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