Auburn basketball ranked No. 1 in latest AP Top 25

The Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team has officially made history.

For the first time ever, Auburn is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

The Tigers (18-1, 7-0 SEC) knocked off Georgia and No. 12 Kentucky last week after being slighted in the previous rankings, landing at No. 2 despite having the most first place votes.

Head coach Bruce Pearl has built this program up from being at the bottom of the barrel in the Southeastern Conference to being the best team in the country in a matter of eight seasons. It’s truly impressive what he has been able to accomplish.

“We’re a football school! But we’re also an everything school,” Coach Pearl said following Auburn’s big win over Kentucky. ‘I know (huge wins) happen at North Carolina, I know they happen at Kansas. But this is happening in Auburn, Alabama!”

The Tigers have completely flipped the script in a matter of a few short years, and it looks like Bruce Pearl & Co. might be here to stay.

Auburn is not only one of the better teams within its own conference, but now they’re consistently one of the better teams in college basketball. The Tigers aren’t a blue blood, per se, but if the Tigers keep winning at the rate they have under Pearl, who knows what their bright future holds.

Here is the AP Top 25 Poll in its entirety.

1. Auburn (45)
2. Gonzaga (15)
3. Arizona (1)
4. Baylor
5. Kansas
6. Purdue
7. Houston
7. UCLA
9. Duke
10. Michigan St.
11. Wisconsin
12. Kentucky
13. Texas Tech
14. Villanova
15. Southern Cal
16. Ohio St.
17. Providence
18. Tennessee
19. LSU
20. UConn
21. Xavier
22. Marquette
23. Iowa St.
24. Illinois
25. Davidson

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Takeaways from Auburn basketball's 80-71 win over Kentucky