Auburn basketball suffered its first SEC loss of the 2024-25 season on Saturday, with Florida dominating the Tigers in a 90-81 final that was not as close as the final score would indicate.
AU got a double-double from Wooden Award nominee Johni Broome and had four players in double-digits. Still, the Tigers couldn't overcome a 43/32/61 shooting slash or take advantage of the Gators' 12 turnovers and failed to overcome a 10-point first-half deficit.
Outside of Miles Kelly, Auburn's guard play left plenty to be desired. That's been an issue for the Tigers since 2020.
The Tigers are now 21-2, but they may maintain their No. 1 spot with Duke also losing to Clemson. CBS Sports' Gary Parrish believes Auburn should remain the top team in the country given the other results.
"Everybody is free to rank however they like, of course. But I keep hearing people say, and reading people tweet, that 'there's going to be a new No. 1 on Monday,'" Parrish tweeted.
"But there shouldn't be.
"Auburn should still be No. 1."
Alabama defeated Arkansas Saturday, but that's not the kind of win that should propel the three-loss Crimson Tide past Duke and Auburn. Certainly, Alabama surpassing Auburn the same week the two are slated to play at Coleman Coliseum would be the kind of cinema sports networks would crave.
College basketball isn't nearly as swayed by TV networks as football, though. It's unclear what direction this goes in, but most results are entertaining with the Iron Bowl of Basketball around the corner.