Tennessee received 38 more first-place votes than Auburn in last week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. My guess is that the gap between the two programs will close some Monday when things update given what Bruce Pearl’s Tigers just did to Purdue. But I still believe the Vols will remain No. 1.
Is it debatable?
Yes, it’s definitely debatable considering Auburn is 11-1 with six Quadrant 1 wins against Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Memphis, Ohio State and Purdue coming by an average of 18.0 points. The Tigers also have a net rating at KenPom.com of +36.31, which is in the neighborhood of the +36.43 that UConn recorded last season while winning a second straight national championship.
By any metric, Auburn is awesome — elite on both ends and led by Johni Broome, a 6-foot-10 senior who is averaging 18.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game. It’s totally sensible to call the Tigers the sport’s best team. There’s a lot of data to support it. But I’m sticking with Tennessee at No. 1 in Monday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, mostly because the Vols have been No. 1 for 19 straight days and done nothing to lose their spot.
Like I explained Sunday, no, Tennessee cannot match Auburn win-for-win — but the Vols do have big wins, specifically a 77-62 victory over Baylor, a 77-55 win at Louisville and a 66-64 triumph at Illinois that registers as one of the best true road victories anybody has recorded this season. Plus, the Vols still have a zero in the loss column whereas Auburn has that 84-78 loss at Duke on its resume.
So, for now at least, I’m sticking with Tennessee at No. 1 and Auburn at No. 2. The good news is that we’ll get to settle this on the court next month, when Auburn hosts Tennessee on the 25th. Odds are, the Vols won’t still be undefeated by the time that game arrives — but they could be! And, either way, Neville Arena will be rocking on that Saturday night, evidence being how the least-expensive ticket for Tennessee-Auburn on StubHub is currently listed for $333.
