The Auburn Tigers have one close loss this season of the three, a 73-72 loss to the Houston Cougars at the Legacy Arena, the site of AU's March Madness elimination to UH in 2023. Auburn's other two defeats were blowouts.
But hey, there's a silver lining that could make their 97-68 loss to the Arizona Wildcats on UA's campus and their 102-72 beatdown at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines at the Player's Era Festival in Las Vegas better:
Michigan and Arizona may be the best teams in the country by a sizable gap. That's what Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde believes, anyway.
"History is littered with premature Nov/Dec college basketball pronouncements, but: give me Michigan and Arizona and I might give you the field," Forde wrote.
What's next for Arizona
After a thorough 96-75 dissection of the Alabama Crimson Tide in Birmingham, the Wildcats are definitively competition to the Wolverines at the top of the heap.
Arizona now has a four-game homestand before Big 12 play, hosting the Abilene Christian Wildcats this Tuesday and the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday, the latter of which Michigan beat by 40 points.
What's next for Michigan
The Maize and Blue are already 2-0 in the Big Ten with 41- and 18-point wins over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Maryland Terrapins, respectively. They have just two more contests in Ann Arbor for the rest of the year before resuming conference play.
Michigan hosts the La Salle explorers next Sunday and then the McNeese State Cowboys on the 29th.
What's next for Auburn
Auburn looks to keep its place in the AP Top 25 Poll when it takes on the Purdue Boilermakers in Indianapolis next Saturday. The Tigers are coming off a 92-78 win over the Chattanooga Mocs in Atlanta on Saturday at the Holiday Hoopsgiving event.
After Purdue, Auburn takes on the Queens University of Charlotte Royals at the Neville Arena on the 29 before SEC kicks off in Athens against the Georgia Bulldogs on January 3.