Auburn becomes longest consecutive AP Poll No. 1 since 2022
On Monday, Auburn basketball added another infinity stone to what has become a historically dominant gauntlet of accomplishments this season. Bruce Pearl's Tigers were once again tabbed the No. 1 team in the nation by AP voters, making it seven weeks in a row Auburn has received the top nod from the contingent of critics.
The seven-week reign as the country's top program is the longest run in over three full calendar years. Gonzaga, who earned the preseason No. 1 ranking in the 2020-2021 season, grasped onto the top ranking for 21 straight weeks before finally giving it up in Week 4 of the 2021-2022 campaign. Before Monday's poll, Connecticut (2024), was the only other program to hold the AP No. 1 for at least six weeks since the 2015 season, when Kentucky held the top ranking for that entire campaign.
Auburn also received every first place vote in the Week 17 AP Poll after an undefeated week. This is the fourth time the Tigers have been at the peak of every voters paper, and the first since Week 14. Florida, who received the only other first-place vote a week ago, slid down one spot in the top 25, to No. 3, in favor of Duke.
Other than the Gators and Auburn, Tennessee (No. 5) and Alabama (No. 6) make up the remaining SEC programs ranked in the top 10 of the poll. Texas A&M (No. 12) fell out of the top 10 after a pair of losses to Mississippi State and Tennessee, marking just the second time since Week 5 the SEC hasn't represented at least 50% of the top 10 teams in college basketball. Kentucky (No. 17) spent most of the early season ranked in the top third of the AP Poll before the Aggies planted themselves among the nation's top programs.
Missouri (No. 14), who very well could have won the SEC if the season was a month longer, continued its surge up the polls this week to round out conference programs ranked in the top 15, while Mississippi State continued its descent down the rankings, checking in at No. 24. Ole Miss (28) and Vanderbilt (2) were the only other SEC teams to receive votes. Old friend Yale received a single vote as well. Kansas, who had been ranked in the AP Poll for 80 consecutive weeks, only received 25 votes in Week 17.
Auburn will need to continue playing extraordinary basketball over the final stretch of the season if it hopes to continue the streak of AP No. 1. After a matchup with Ole Miss at Neville Arena early this week, the Tigers travel to Rupp Arena to take on No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday before taking a pit stop in College Station to take on the Aggies next Tuesday. The regular season then wraps up with part two of the 'Iron Bowl of Basketball' on March 8.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn becomes longest consecutive AP Poll No. 1 since 2022
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Auburn Sends Message to Bruce Pearl Assistant After Big Career Announcement
Auburn Sends Message to Bruce Pearl Assistant After Big Career Announcement originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Under Bruce Pearl's guidance, the Auburn Tigers finished with a 32-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play last season, earning the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reaching the Final Four for the second time in program history. Advertisement Along the way, Auburn captured the Maui Invitational title, secured its sixth SEC regular-season crown and was ranked No. 4 in the AP poll by season's end. As the team prepares for another deep run in 2025-26, Pearl announced on Friday that Ian Borders, a key member of his staff since 2018, would be elevated to assistant coach for the men's program. Shortly after, Auburn took to X to celebrate the milestone, posting simply, "Much deserved 👏" in recognition of Borders's steadily expanding role. Borders arrives at his new role with a well-rounded resume. A 2007 graduate of the University of Louisville, Borders added two more degrees from Western Kentucky (2010, 2015) and completed a master's in sport management at Florida State in 2017. Advertisement He started in coaching as an assistant at South Oldham High School (2010-15), then moved up to the Division I ranks as a graduate assistant under Leonard Hamilton at Florida State (2015-17) before taking on video coordination duties at Little Rock (2016-18) and Auburn (2018-23). In his first season on The Plains, Borders oversaw video operations during Auburn's magical run to the 2019 Final Four, where the Tigers became the only school to knock off Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina in consecutive NCAA Tournament games. Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Donnan-Imagn Images He then transitioned to Director of Scouting and Recruiting, where he helped Auburn compile three straight 25-win seasons (2018-2021). Advertisement In his new capacity as assistant coach, Borders will add player development, scouting and recruiting duties to his portfolio. By rewarding a coach who has labored behind the scenes for seven seasons, Pearl reinforces a culture of loyalty and earned opportunity. Related: UConn Makes Announcement About Dan Hurley's Wife on Thursday Related: Duke Announces Exciting News on Cameron Boozer's Dad This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Scenes from a Tigers victory: A daunting catch, a daring escape and another unlikely hero
DETROIT — Here was another dilemma. Sweat beat down on Tarik Skubal's head Friday under a strange summer haze. Smoke from Canadian wildfires infiltrated the Detroit sky and lingered as dusk descended on Comerica Park. The best pitcher in baseball was at 94 pitches. He had just surrendered back-to-back singles. There were runners on the corners and two outs. The Tigers were clinging to a 2-1 lead. Advertisement In Skubal's previous outing, manager A.J. Hinch removed him after seven innings and 90 pitches. Reliever Beau Brieske surrendered the lead to the Kansas City Royals in the eighth. Skubal keeps pitching so well that it's creating difficult decisions for his manager. Friday, Hinch again called to the bullpen. Right-hander Will Vest entered to face Seiya Suzuki, who was 0-for-3 against Skubal but entered play with a 1.173 OPS against left-handed pitching. The move made logical sense but still required some gumption. 'Suzuki is the at-bat of the game,' Hinch said. 'It's the most leverage, it's the biggest spot, and we've got to get a righty on him at that moment.' The right-handed Vest has been a dynamic force in his own right this season, the owner of a 1.72 ERA. So in the top of the eighth, Vest threw a 1-2 fastball that caught too much of the plate. Suzuki appeared to swing under the ball. It left his bat at a 39-degree launch angle. At the dais after the game, Hinch mimicked his thought process as the ball traveled through the air. 'OK,' Hinch thought for a moment, 'we got out of it.' But Suzuki's hit hung in the sky like a disco ball, slowly drifting deeper into the hazy twilight. 'I was like: 'Stay here. Stay in the ballpark,'' Hinch said. There at the wall, Kerry Carpenter, the right-fielder whose defense has been an adventure as of late, peeked toward the padding and ran. He always thought he'd make the catch, he said. Finally, the sphere came crashing toward the earth. Carpenter jumped. Extended his glove. And … there it was. Ball met leather. Carpenter made the catch, might have robbed a home run, and certainly kept the Tigers' lead intact. Now watching as a spectator, Skubal pumped his fists and shouted in celebration. 'You're doing everything you can in the dugout to reel it back in,' Skubal said. KERRY CARPENTER IS A BAD MAN.#VoteTigers ⭐️ — Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 7, 2025 That was the peak of another dramatic Tigers victory, 3-1 against the Chicago Cubs, this one a win that encapsulated so much of what has made this team so good all season. The Tigers entered as the best team in the American League. The Cubs entered as the best team in the National League. Detroit was coming off a sleepy series on the South Side, where it split four games with the last-place Chicago White Sox. The Cubs rolled into town having won four out of five. Skubal was on the mound. The park was sold out. The game was flying by. Advertisement The Tigers struck first in the fifth. Gleyber Torres, the second baseman they shrewdly signed on a one-year deal this winter, hit a shrieking line drive over shortstop to bring home a run. The Cubs tied the score when Kyle Tucker doubled home rookie Matt Shaw in the sixth. And then the Tigers did what they have been doing all year. Finding ways. Some way, any way. Spencer Torkelson, entering on a 3-for-27 slump despite a redemptive season that will merit All-Star consideration, got down 0-2. Cubs starter Ben Brown threw three consecutive knuckle curves low, scraping the dirt. Torkelson took all three. Full count. Then he got a fastball. Torkelson smoothed out his swing, found his timing and detonated a blast that sent the ball crescendoing over the left-field fence. It was Torkelson's 15th home run of the year. The Tigers pulled ahead. That set the stage for the drama in the eighth. The Tigers escaped with the lead. Along the way, they benefited from a series of sterling defensive plays. Riley Greene caught a ball and crashed into the left-field wall. Javier Báez played impeccable shortstop, even redirected a throw from left in the fifth to nab Pete Crow-Armstrong, who ran past the base at third on a late stop sign, then was called out floundering back to the bag. Dillon Dingler threw out Shaw for a key out in the eighth. 'That was an absolute clinic by the guys,' Torkelson said. The Tigers have started wearing T-shirts with one of Hinch's mantras printed on the back. Everything matters. 'Everything matters in every game,' Hinch said. 'Everything matters to a greater extent in a close game. And any one of those plays could have changed the whole complexion of the score.' And in the ninth, a little more poetry. Before the game, the Tigers sent down Andy Ibáñez, their longtime right-handed-hitting specialist who has lost all feel in the box. Ibáñez was coming off a lackluster series against the White Sox, slumbering at the plate for much of the past two weeks, and the Tigers needed to infuse their offense, particularly with right-handed help. They brought up Jahmai Jones, a 2015 second-round pick who's on his fifth MLB team at 27 years old. Advertisement Jones has a unique connection to this city. His late father, Andre, was a defensive end for the Detroit Lions in 1992. His older brother, T.J., also played four seasons for the Lions as a wide receiver. In spring, Jones talked of all these connections, of the family legacy, of what it would mean to actually make it to Detroit. He impressed in spring but did not make the team. He lingered in Toledo, where his name was hardly mentioned in the endless roster talks that percolate through the season. But finally the Tigers sent down Ibáñez to find himself. Jones got the chance. He arrived at Comerica Park around 2:30 p.m. and launched straight into game prep. After first pitch, he sat near injured utility player Matt Vierling, talking about the best way to prepare for the possibility of a late-game pinch hit chance. Hinch called Jones' number in the ninth. And what did he do on his first pitch? He got a hanging curveball, then launched a looping torpedo over the left-field fence. This was his first bat, his first pitch, as a Detroit Tiger. And it was his first home run, only the second of his major-league career. He retreated to the dugout, saw Vierling and started laughing. 'I told you how to get ready!' Vierling shouted. 'My guy!' Jones said in response. In the bottom of the ninth, 40,000 people rose to their feet. Vest — once a Rule 5 pick who was returned to the Tigers after a mediocre stint with the Seattle Mariners — closed the door for the 10th time this season. Hinch was asked about the idea of his Tigers meeting the moment. Tough matchup, national broadcast, big crowd, all that. He practically shrugged. 'I appreciate the thought of raising the bar,' Hinch said. 'The bar is pretty high around here.' (Top photo of Will Vest: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
College baseball schedule: Scores, times, TV channels for Friday super regionals games
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. Sixteen teams remain alive in the NCAA baseball tournament and look to punch their ticket to the College World Series with a super regional win. National seeds Arkansas, Auburn, North Carolina, LSU, Oregon State, Florida State, Coastal Carolina, Tennessee and UCLA all won regionals at their home field, although No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 2 Texas were upset in the opening weekend. Advertisement Stream college baseball super regionals live with ESPN+ Regional 4-seed Murray State won the Oxford Regional and is looking to become the fourth No. 4 seed to ever reach a College World Series, along with Oral Roberts, Stony Brook and Fresno State. Next, is a three-game series for each of the teams still alive, with the winner headed to Omaha, Nebraska for the CWS. Here's a look at the super regionals scores and schedule for Friday, June 6, along with how to watch each game: College baseball super regionals games today Arizona at No. 5 North Carolina | Noon ET | ESPN2 Miami at Louisville | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN2 No. 9 Florida State at No. 8 Oregon State | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN2 No. 13 Coastal Carolina at No. 4 Auburn | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN2 REQUIRED READING: College baseball tournament super regionals: Ranking the 16 teams left in the field College baseball scores today This section will be updated. Advertisement No. 5 North Carolina 18, Arizona 2 Louisville 8, Miami 1 No. 8 Oregon State 5, No. 9 Florida State 4 No. 13 Coastal Carolina at No. 4 Auburn NCAA baseball tournament bracket The full bracket for the 2025 NCAA baseball tournament can be found here. When is the College World Series? Date: June 13-June 22/23 The College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starts June 13, and runs through June 22 or 23. The tournament extends one day if the three-game national championship series needs a deciding Game 3. What channel are college baseball games on today? TV channel: ESPN2 Streaming: ESPN app, ESPN+, Fubo Super regional college baseball games on Friday, June 6, will air live on ESPN2, with streaming options on the ESPN app (with a TV provider login), ESPN+ or Fubo, which both require subscriptions. Fubo offers a free trial potential subscribers. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College baseball schedule: Scores, times, TV channels for Friday
