Auburn's Early Season Struggles Reflected in New AP Poll

The Auburn Tigers are undefeated after the first week of the regular season, but their early struggles in the season opener may have raised concerns among national media and AP voters.

Auburn moved down a couple of spots to No. 22 in this week’s AP Poll, as they were originally No. 20 heading into the season. The Tigers rank as the sixth-highest SEC team in the poll, with No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 10 Florida, No. 20 Tennessee, and No. 21 Arkansas all ahead of them.

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This likely should’ve been expected, as head coach Steven Pearl and company survived a massive scare from Bethune-Cookman last Monday in his first regular-season game at the helm. It took the Tigers five extra minutes for them to defeat the Wildcats, outlasting a strong shooting performance from Bethune-Cookman to claim their first victory of the year, 95-90 in overtime.

While Auburn’s defense was lackluster and its offense was stagnant for a portion of the game, Bethune-Cookman also couldn’t miss, shooting 50.0% from the field and a whopping 52.2% from three-point land.

On the flip side, the Tigers shot 45.6% from the field, but struggled in just about every other area. They went just 6-of-23 from downtown and 71.1% from the charity stripe, missing nine free throws on the night. However, they managed to convert the important ones when it counted most down the stretch and found a way to emerge on top.

Three days later, Auburn put together a much more convincing showing, defeating Merrimack 95-57. The Tigers finished with five players in double-figures, with Keyshawn Hall once again leading the way with 25 points, and found a rhythm on both ends of the court in the second half.

Looking forward, Auburn faces Wofford on Tuesday night before heading to Birmingham for a clash with No. 1 Houston on Sunday. The Tigers also have meetings with No. 2 Purdue, No. 5 Arizona, and No. 6 Michigan on the horizon of a brutal nonconference slate.

If Auburn can find a way to win these next two, including what would be an enormous statement win over the top-ranked Cougars this weekend, the Tigers could shoot up the rankings come next Monday.