Auburn basketball fans in an uproar after being robbed of No. 1 spot in AP Top 25 Poll again

Auburn basketball fans are sick of the Tigers playing like the No. 1 team in the nation, but not being ranked like it
Auburn basketball fans are sick of the Tigers playing like the No. 1 team in the nation, but not being ranked like it | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Auburn basketball has been dominant this year. Barring one close loss to Duke at Cameron Indoor -- that many fans, Tiger fans or otherwise, would admit the referees played a massive part in -- the Bruce Pearl-led Tigers have been on a tear this season.

Despite this, the Tigers are still No. 2 in the nation, per the AP Top 25 Poll. Undefeated Tennessee stands above Auburn even though the Volunteers have yet to play a team currently ranked in the top 25.

Helping Auburrn’s case is each team’s most recent matchup. The Tigers dominated Ohio State on Saturday on the back of yet another absurd Johni Broome performance, besting the Buckeyes by a staggering 38 points, whereas Tennessee barely squeaked out a 66-64 win against unranked Illinois.

As such, the Tigers stand atop the KenPom, ESPN BPI, Torvik, Haslametrics, EvanMiya, and NET rankings, yet just can’t seem to earn the favor of the AP voting committee.

Auburn fans have been very outspoken about their perception of fairness in this ranking, with one fan noting that the “idea that you can't move a team unless they lose, in a December poll, is so crazy but many voters are still there. Auburn is the #1 team in metrics, on the court, and by any eye test.”

Fans are incredibly frustrated with the committee rewarding close wins against subpar teams, with one Auburn fan saying that the Tigers should “just play cupcakes [from] now on,” and another complaining that it feels like the “AP voters don’t actually watch the games.”

Whatever the case with the AP voters may be, the fact remains: the Tigers sit at No. 2, and that won’t change until next week at the very earliest. Pearl’s squad will look to prove themselves to the AP voters in this week’s matchups against Georgia State and No. 16 Purdue.