After losses at South Carolina and Mississippi State last week, Auburn basketball has fallen from No. 16 to unranked in the latest AP Top 25, announced Monday morning.
The ranking breaks the 22-week streak of Auburn being in the polls, the second-longest stretch in program history. The Tigers earned 85 points, putting them technically at No. 26.
The Tigers entered the polls at No. 22 midway through last season. Prior to that week (Jan. 8, 2018) Auburn had not been ranked since the 2003-04 season.
In an 80-77 loss to South Carolina last Tuesday, Gamecocks forward Chris Silva scored a career-high 32 points against the Tigers' thinning frontcourt that has been without starting center Austin Wiley (lower leg) since the Kentucky loss Jan. 19.
There's no current timetable for Wiley's return, but head coach Bruce Pearl said the first week of treatment went well.
“Progressing," Pearl said of Wiley's status. "I’d say I think they’re pleased with his healing. We talked about it being a couple of weeks, so next week will be the beginning of his full second week. We’ll see how it goes."
Four days after the loss in Columbia, Auburn (13-6, 2-4 SEC) crossed the state line to Starkville, Mississippi, for a primetime, top-25 showdown with No. 22 Miss State.
The Tigers weathered an early 3-point barrage and took a lead minutes into the second half, but 27 points from Miss State guard Quindary Weatherspoon and a 16-point, 10-assist double-double from guard Lamar Peters buried Auburn late.
Despite the Tigers' first three-game losing streak in two seasons, Pearl says fans shouldn't panic. In fact, he predicted a tougher SEC slate in the preseason.
"I thought we had the chance to have a better team than we did last year," Pearl said. "We’re going to lose more games than we did a year ago. I think you’ll see that dating quite a ways back, but it’s because the league is really good."
Auburn begins a three-game home slate Wednesday against Missouri (10-8, 1-5 SEC) at 7:30 p.m. CST, broadcast on SEC Network.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
