Auburn Basketball climbs to No. 16 in AP Poll after Arkansas beatdown

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January 8, 2024

Coach Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers have ascended from No. 25 to No. 16 in the AP Poll after a 83-51 road beatdown against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon.

The loss for Arkansas marked their largest ever loss at Bud Walton, while Auburn kicked conference play off to a fantastic start, now 12-2 on the season with losses to Baylor (No. 12) and Appalachian State on the road.

Auburn’s junior college transfer Chad Baker-Mazara has become one of the Tigers’ top performers, and his SEC debut was impressive with 14 points in the first half.

Next, Auburn will take on Texas A&M, with plenty at stake, as Auburn has lost eight of the last ten matchups against the Aggies, extending all the way back to the 2015-16 season.

Texas A&M, expected to contend for a conference title under Buzz Williams this season after a second place finish last year, is off to a rough 9-5 start. The Aggies are coming off a 15-point home loss to LSU over the weekend in a matchup where the A&M was favored by 12 points.

With college football season coming to a close, college basketball season is just beginning to heat up.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP

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