AUBURN, Ala. – For the first time since Jan. 17, 2000, the Auburn men's basketball team is ranked in the top five of the AP poll. The Tigers, who won on the road at Mississippi State on Saturday, climbed three spots No. 5 in this week's poll, released Monday.
At 13-0, Auburn is one of two undefeated teams remaining in college basketball. The other, San Diego State, comes in at No. 7 in this week's AP poll.
The rest of the top five includes No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Baylor. The top three remain unchanged from last week while Baylor climbed two spots from No. 6 to No. 4. The Tigers are the top-ranked team in the SEC followed by Kentucky at No. 14.
For Auburn, this is the fifth season the program has been ranked in the top five (1958-59, 1986-87, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2019-20) in its history. The last time it happened, during the 1999-2000 season, the Tigers spent seven weeks inside the top five, including four straight from Dec. 27 to Jan. 24. They are 27-9 all-time as a top-five team.
Auburn will put that record to the test this week with back-to-back home games against Vanderbilt on Wednesday and Georgia on Saturday.