The Auburn basketball team continues to defy preseason expectations and rise in the polls. Moving up three spots to No. 8 in the AP Poll and up four spots to No. 9 in the coaches poll, the 21-2 (9-1) Auburn Tigers are garnering respect from experts across the nation.
After a tough January loss to rival Alabama, the Tigers have reeled off five straight victories, including a 93-81 win over Vanderbilt this past Saturday. The victory snapped a 13-game Auburn losing streak against the Commodores and gave the Tigers a two game cushion atop the SEC.
After losing starters Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley before the season, most would call you crazy for predicting a young and undersized Auburn squad would rank ahead of traditional blue-blood programs like Duke, Kansas and Kentucky come February.
However, with a lights out offensive effort, vastly improved defensive effort, solid rebounding and a deadly backcourt trio of Jared Harper, Bryce Brown and Mustapha Heron, Auburn finds itself atop the SEC and essentially a lock to get back into the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Marquis Daniels-led Tigers lost to eventual champion, Syracuse by one point in 2003.
Joe Lunardi - ESPN
SOUTH: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Wright State (Nashville, Tenn.)
Jerry Palm - CBS Sports
SOUTH: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Wright State (Nashville, Tenn.)
Jerry Palm also has Auburn as a No. 2 seed in the South Region against Wright State but believes Auburn is making a strong case for a No. 1 seed
Shelby Mast and Scott Gleeson - USA Today
WEST: No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast (Nashville, Tenn.)
Dave Ommen - NBC Sports
SOUTH: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Bucknell (Nashville, Tenn.)
Howie Schwab - FOX Sports
EAST: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Wagner (Detroit, Mich.)
Kerry Miller - Bleacher Report
SOUTH: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Rider (Nashville, Tenn.)
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