AP Men’s Basketball Poll Week 9: 5 SEC teams included in top 25 led by Auburn

Auburn led the way among SEC teams in the latest AP Top 25 poll for men’s basketball, as the Tigers moved up to No. 4 in the country after they were No. 9 last week.

Auburn is coming off of an 85-73 win over Florida on Saturday for its 11th straight win, and a 3-0 start in SEC play. The other SEC teams in the poll are LSU (12), Kentucky (18), Tennessee (22) and Alabama (24).

Auburn’s depth helped it shoulder foul trouble against the Gators, as 3 starters were on the bench for large portions of the second half. Auburn will return to action on Tuesday for a 8 p.m. local time game against Alabama in the next SEC matchup between ranked teams.

Baylor remained No. 1, followed by Gonzaga and UCLA.

LSU got a 24-point, 12-rebound performance from Tari Eason as then-No. 21 LSU held on to beat No. 18 Tennessee 79-67 on Saturday night for the Tigers’ second-straight win over a ranked opponent.

In Kentucky’s win over Georgia on Saturday, TyTy Washington Jr. broke John Wall’s single-game school record for assists with 17 assists along with scoring 17 points in the 92-77 victory. Oscar Tshiebwe added a career-high 29 points and 17 rebounds as the Wildcats shot 63 percent after halftime to pull away from the Bulldogs.

POLL ALERT: Baylor remains unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25; No. 5 USC reaches highest ranking since December 1974.

Full poll: https://t.co/mgyCG5Ufkv pic.twitter.com/1tUQnvS3Ie

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 10, 2022

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.