When I wrote last Sunday that Auburn could lose its final two regular-season games and still be projected as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, I didn’t actually expect Auburn to lose its final two regular-season games.
But now look!
The Tigers backed Tuesday’s 83-72 loss at Texas A&M with Saturday’s 93-91 overtime loss to Alabama at home, which means Bruce Pearl’s team will take a two-game losing streak into the SEC Tournament. That’s not ideal. True to my word, though, I kept Auburn No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings for what is the 60th consecutive day.
But why, Parrish?
I know some of you are asking that question right now — so let me answer it directly. As I’ve explained many times, Auburn spent November, December, January and February building a body of work so superior to the rest of the sport that we reached a point where the Tigers could literally lose their final two regular-season games and still have college basketball’s best resume, which is what they did and what they still have. Auburn is now 27-4 overall with a 16-4 mark in Quadrant 1. That gives the Tigers at least five more Q1 wins than everybody else and zero losses to anybody ranked outside of the top 20 of the NET.
If you prefer Duke to Auburn, just know that Duke has nine fewer Q1 wins and one more loss to a team ranked outside of the top 20 of the NET. If you prefer Houston to Auburn, just know that Houston has six fewer Q1 wins and one more loss to a team ranked outside of the top 20 of the NET. If you prefer Florida to Auburn, just know that Florida has seven fewer Q1 wins and two more losses to teams ranked outside of the top 20 of the NET.
Do I need to keep going?
Now, if you’ll allow me to backpedal a bit, consistent readers of this space might know that I’ve written multiple times recently that Auburn is a lock to be the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Sunday — and I still believe that’s what the Tigers will be. I’d bet significantly on it. But, in the spirit of transparency, I’m no longer certain the Tigers could lose their first game in the SEC Tournament and hold on to the No. 1 overall seed if Duke or Houston win-out.
Is it possible? Yes, it’s possible.
But I’m no longer certain it’s certain.
Either way, no matter how you chop it up, the data still supports Auburn as the team with the sport’s best body of work. A week from today, we’ll find out for sure whether the Tigers were able to hold on to it. But, for now, in my mind, they still have it.
(PS: You might notice below that there’s no movement in the top eight of the Top 25 And 1. This might go without saying, but that’s because nothing that happened Saturday, good or bad, compelled me to change the order of the top eight. Before you ask, yes, I’m obviously aware of all of the results. I just don’t think any of the results should change the order of the top eight.)
Top 25 And 1 rankings
BIGGEST MOVERS
2 ILLINOIS 3 WISCONSIN
RK
TEAMS
CHG
RCRD
1
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AUBURN Chaney Johnson was 1-of-3 from the field with four fouls in Saturday’s 93-91 overtime loss to Alabama. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 27-4
2
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DUKE Cooper Flagg finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s 82-69 win at North Carolina. The Blue Devils are the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. — 28-3
3
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HOUSTON L.J. Cryer finished with 23 points and two rebounds in Saturday’s 65-61 win at Baylor. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. — 27-4
4
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FLORIDA Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 23 points and eight assists in Saturday’s 90-71 win over Ole Miss. The Gators are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 27-4
5
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MICHIGAN ST. Jase Richardson finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Thursday’s 91-84 win at Iowa. The Spartans are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 26-5
6
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TENNESSEE Chaz Lanier finished with 23 points and three steals in Saturday’s 75-65 win over South Carolina. The Vols are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 25-6
7
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ALABAMA Grant Nelson finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 93-91 overtime win at Auburn. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 24-7
8
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ST. JOHN’S RJ Luis finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 86-84 win at Marquette. The Red Storm are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. — 27-4
9
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TEXAS TECH JT Toppin finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 85-57 win at Arizona State. The Red Raiders are the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. 1 24-7
10
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TEXAS A&M Wade Taylor IV finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 66-52 win at LSU. The Aggies are the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament. 1 22-9
11
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IOWA ST. Curtis Jones finished with 24 points and five assists in Saturday’s 73-57 win at Kansas State. The Cyclones are the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. 1 23-8
12
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WISCONSIN John Tonje was 2-of-13 from the field in Saturday’s 86-75 loss to Penn State. The Badgers are the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. 3 23-8
13
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PURDUE Purdue allowed the Illini to shoot 63% from 2-point range in Friday’s 88-80 loss at Illinois. The Boilermakers are the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 21-10
14
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MARYLAND Julian Reese finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-61 win over Northwestern. The Terrapins are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 24-7
15
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LOUISVILLE Chucky Hepburn finished with 16 points and four steals in Saturday’s 68-48 win over Stanford. The Cardinals are the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. — 25-6
16
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MICHIGAN Will Tschetter was 1-of-5 from the field in Wednesday’s 71-65 loss to Maryland. The Wolverines are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 22-9
17
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CLEMSON Viktor Lakhin finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Saturday’s 65-47 win over Virginia Tech. The Tigers are the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. — 26-5
18
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KENTUCKY Otega Oweh finished with 22 points and three steals in Saturday’s 91-83 win at Missouri. The Wildcats’ next game will be in the SEC Tournament. 2 21-10
19
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SAINT MARY’S Augustus Marciulionis finished with 25 points and seven assists in Saturday’s 74-64 win over Oregon State. The Gaels are the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament. 2 28-5
20
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ARIZONA KJ Lewis was 1-of-8 from the field in Saturday’s 83-76 loss at Kansas. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. 2 20-11
21
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MARQUETTE Stevie Mitchell was 0-of-7 from the field in Saturday’s 86-84 loss to St. John’s. The Golden Eagles are the No. 5 seed in the Big East Tournament. 2 22-9
22
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MEMPHIS PJ Haggerty finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s 84-68 win over USF. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the AAC Tournament. — 26-5
23
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OREGON Jackson Shelstad finished with 17 points and two rebounds in Tuesay’s 73-64 win over Indiana. The Ducks are the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 23-8
24
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BYU Dawson Baker finished with 15 points and one steal in Saturday’s 83-73 win over Utah. The Cougars are the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. 1 23-8
25
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ILLINOIS Will Riley finished with 22 points and four assists in Friday’s 88-80 win over Purdue. The Illini are the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. NR 20-11
26
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UCLA Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 90-63 win over USC. The Bruins are the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. NR 22-9
In: Illinois, UCLA
Out: Missouri, Ole Miss