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There are a bunch of different ways to illustrate how great of a season Auburn is having. At this point, perhaps the best is to suggest that the Tigers are so far ahead of everybody else from a resume-perspective with eight days left in the regular season that they could literally lose every game they play between now and Selection Sunday and still be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
That's how great of a season Auburn is having.
The Tigers continued their incredible run through nearly everything and anything placed in front of them with a 94-78 win at Kentucky on Saturday that pushed them to 27-2 overall and 15-1 in the SEC. More importantly, Auburn is now 16-2 in Quadrant 1 with no additional losses.
Now let's put my suggestion to the test.
Auburn's final two regular-season games are a Q1 game at Texas A&M on Tuesday and another Q1 game at home against Alabama on Saturday. Even if the Tigers lost both, they'd still be outright SEC champions and thus the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. Then their first game in the SEC Tournament would be in the quarterfinals against the winner of what will likely be an 8-9 game. Barring a surprise, that would also be a Q1 game. So, follow me here, even if Auburn lost its final two regular-season games and its first game in the SEC Tournament, Bruce Pearl's team would still likely be 27-5 overall with a 16-5 record in Q1. Again, that's the worst-case scenario for Auburn. And, based on current projections, literally nobody would be able to exceed or even match it.
So, again, I'm ready to call it.
Auburn is now a lock to be the No. 1 overall in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
To be clear, I neither expect Auburn to lose every remaining game before Selection Sunday nor am I certain Auburn will even lose again at all before Selection Sunday. My point is that we've reached the point where Auburn could take a three-game losing streak into Selection Sunday and still be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The only thing that could prevent it would be a serious injury to a star player — and, even then, it would be debatable given that Auburn played two NCAA Tournament teams earlier this season without star player Johni Broome and won those contests by an average of 12 points.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 22 points and three steals in Saturday's 94-78 win at Kentucky. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday at Texas A&M. | -- | 32-5 |
| 2 |  | Isaiah Evans finished with 19 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 100-65 win over Florida State. The Blue Devils' next game is Monday against Wake Forest. | -- | 35-3 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 20 points and one assist in Saturday's 73-64 win over Cincinnati. The Cougars' next game is Monday against Kansas. | -- | 34-4 |
| 4 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 18 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 79-76 win over Alabama. The Vols' next game is Wednesday at Ole Miss. | 1 | 30-8 |
| 5 |  | Grant Nelson was 2-of-8 from the field in Saturday's 79-76 loss at Tennessee. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday against Florida. | 1 | 28-9 |
| 6 |  | Jase Richardson finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 58-55 win at Maryland. The Spartans' next game is Sunday against Wisconsin. | -- | 30-7 |
| 7 |  | Will Richard finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 89-70 win over Texas A&M. The Gators' next game is Wednesday at Alabama. | -- | 34-4 |
| 8 |  | RJ Luis Jr. finished with 21 points and two steals in Saturday's 71-61 win over Seton Hall. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday at Marquette. | -- | 31-5 |
| 9 |  | John Blackwell finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 88-62 win over Washington. The Badgers' next game is Sunday at Michigan State. | -- | 27-10 |
| 10 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 84-82 win over Rutgers. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Illinois. | -- | 27-10 |
| 11 |  | Milan Momcilovic finished with 17 points and three assists in Saturday's 84-67 win over Arizona. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday against BYU. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 12 |  | JT Toppin finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 78-73 win at Kansas. The Red Raiders' next game is Wednesday against Colorado. | 1 | 28-9 |
| 13 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 29 points and three rebounds in Friday's 76-66 win over UCLA. The Boilermakers' next game is Tuesday against Rutgers. | 3 | 24-12 |
| 14 |  | Wade Taylor IV was 3 of 11 from the field in Saturday's 89-70 loss at Florida. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday against Auburn. | 3 | 23-11 |
| 15 |  | Terrence Edwards Jr. finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 79-68 win over Pitt. The Cardinals' next game is Wednesday against California. | 2 | 27-8 |
| 16 |  | David Joplin finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 76-61 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday at UConn. | 3 | 23-11 |
| 17 |  | Jacob Crews was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday's 97-73 overtime loss at Vanderbilt. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma. | 3 | 22-12 |
| 18 |  | Josh Hubbard finished with 30 points and four rebounds in Saturday' 81-69 win over LSU. The Bulldogs' next game is Tuesday against Texas. | 2 | 21-13 |
| 19 |  | Ian Schieffelin finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 71-58 win at Virginia. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Boston College. | 3 | 27-7 |
| 20 |  | Derik Queen finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 68-64 win at Penn State. The Terrapins' next game is Wednesday at Michigan. | 3 | 27-9 |
| 21 |  | Caleb Love was 2 of 15 from the field in Saturday's 84-67 loss at Iowa State. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Arizona State. | 3 | 24-13 |
| 22 |  | Lamont Butler was 4 of 13 from the field in Saturday's 94-78 loss to Auburn. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against LSU. | 7 | 24-12 |
| 23 |  | Augustus Marciulionis finished with 25 points and seven assists in Saturday's 74-64 win over Oregon State. The Gaels' next game is March 10 against a team to be determined in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament. | 2 | 29-6 |
| 24 |  | Dain Dainja finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 84-72 win over Rice. The Tigers' next game is Sunday at UAB. | -- | 29-6 |
| 25 |  | Keeshawn Barthelemy finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 82-61 win over USC. The Ducks' next game is Tuesday against Indiana. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 26 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 87-84 win over Oklahoma. The Rebels' next game is Wednesday against Tennessee. | NR | 24-12 |
