It's not just that Auburn lost 91-82 at Arkansas late Tuesday that should be concerning for Bruce Pearl because, frankly, there's no real shame in losing at Bud Walton Arena. The larger issue is that the Tigers have now lost three of their past four games -- and four of their past seven. And that they're 1-3 since the moment Anfernee McLemore went down with a season-ending leg injury in what ultimately became an 84-75 loss at South Carolina two Saturdays ago.
In other words, Auburn is trending in the wrong direction and guaranteed to play the rest of this season without its best shot blocker. That's obviously not good. And what looked like it was going to be an outright SEC regular-season title just 10 days ago will now probably, at best, be a shared SEC regular-season title because Tennessee's three-game winning streak has allowed UT to pull into a first-place tie with Auburn, and because the Vols' regular-season finale is a home game against Georgia in which they'll be around a 10-point favorite.
All of this is why Auburn dropped to 18th in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 (and one). The Tigers are two spots behind No. 16 Tennessee -- basically because I believe the Vols now have the best resume in the SEC, one that features six top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-75 losses. (Auburn has five top-50 KenPom wins and two sub-75 losses.) Rhode Island, which only has one top-50 KenPom win, was removed from the Top 25 (and one) after Tuesday's shocking 78-48 loss at home to Saint Joseph's. The Rams were replaced by Virginia Tech, which has won three of its past four games and is possession of victories over three schools in the top 10 of the Top 25 (and one) -- specifically Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.
Wednesday's updated Top 25 (and one)
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Cavaliers own 11 top-50 KenPom wins -- among them victories over Duke, North Carolina and Clemson. They've already secured the outright ACC regular-season title. | -- | 7-5 |
| 2 |  | The Spartans finished 16-2 in the Big Ten to win their first outright regular-season league title since 2009. Their resume features six top-50 KenPom wins - including victories over Purdue and North Carolina. | -- | 10-2 |
| 3 |  | The Wildcats' resume features seven top-50 KenPom wins -- including a regular-season sweep of Xavier. They are 3-3 in their past six games. | -- | 8-5 |
| 4 |  | The Musketeers' resume features 10 top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-40 loss. They're 10-1 in their last 11 games, with that one loss coming to Villanova. | -- | 8-5 |
| 5 |  | The Jayhawks won their 14th game against a top-50 KenPom team on Monday and secured the outright Big 12 regular-season championship. Kansas has become the first school to ever win 14 straight league titles. | -- | 9-2 |
| 6 |  | The Blue Devils' five-game winning streak was snapped Monday at Virginia Tech. Duke owns 10 top-50 KenPom wins and has lost to a sub-40 opponent only twice. | -- | 10-2 |
| 7 |  | The Boilermakers finished their regular season with eight top-50 Kenpom wins and just two sub-50 losses. They'll take a three-game winning streak into the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 8-4 |
| 8 |  | The Zags beat BYU on Saturday to secure their 14th outright WCC regular-season championship in 19 seasons under Mark Few. Their resume features four top-45 KenPom wins -- among them victories over Ohio State and Creighton. | 1 | 9-3 |
| 9 |  | The Mountaineers have won four of their past five games and compiled a total of 11 top-50 KenPom wins. Five of their eight losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). | 2 | 9-2 |
| 10 |  | The Tar Heels' six-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday by Miami. Their resume features 11 top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-40 loss. | 2 | 7-5 |
| 11 |  | The Red Raiders own nine top-50 KenPom wins -- among them victories over Kansas and West Virginia. Their past 11 games include a seven-game winning streak and a four-game losing streak. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 12 |  | The Shockers will take a six-game winning streak into Thursday's game at UCF. Their resume includes four top-55 KenPom wins and just two sub-40 losses. | 1 | 9-3 |
| 13 |  | The Tigers own seven top-50 KenPom wins -- among them victories over North Carolina and Ohio State. Marcquise Reed is averaging a team-high 15.9 points. | 1 | 10-3 |
| 14 |  | The Buckeyes' resume features four top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-30 losses. They finished 15-3 in the Big Ten. | 1 | 8-4 |
| 15 |  | The Bearcats are one win away from securing at least a share of the AAC regular-season title. They're 2-4 vs. top-50 KenPom teams, 23-0 against everybody else. | 1 | 10-1 |
| 16 |  | The Vols own six top-50 KenPom wins -- among them victories over Purdue and Kentucky. UT is 12-5 in the SEC and tied with Auburn atop the league standings. 1 | 1 | 12-0 |
| 17 |  | The Wolverines' resume features six top-50 KenPom wins -- most notably a road victory over Michigan State. They'll take a five-game winning streak into the Big Ten Tournament. | 1 | 9-3 |
| 18 |  | The Tigers are stuck on five top-50 KenPom wins because they've dropped three of their past four games. Auburn is 12-5 in the SEC and tied with Tennessee atop the league standings. | 8 | 11-1 |
| 19 |  | The Wolf Pack's resume features seven top-70 KenPom wins and just three sub-25 losses. Their only home loss came when their leading scorer (Caleb Martin) was sidelined. | 1 | 8-4 |
| 20 |  | The Wildcats' resume features six top-50 KenPom wins -- among them a road victory over West Virginia. They'll take a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with Ole Miss. | 1 | 10-2 |
| 21 |  | The Wildcats' resume features five top-50 KenPom wins and five sub-50 losses. They're currently without their head coach (Sean Miller) and second-leading scorer (Allonzo Trier). | 1 | 6-5 |
| 22 |  | The Bulldogs' resume features wins over Villanova and Ohio State - and just two sub-45 KenPom losses. Butler will take a two-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at St. John's. | 1 | 7-6 |
| 23 |  | The Horned Frogs' resume features only one sub-50 KenPom loss -- a January loss at Vanderbilt. They own six top-50 KenPom wins and will take a four-game winning streak into Saturday's game at Texas Tech. | 1 | 7-4 |
| 24 |  | The Gators own eight top-50 KenPom wins -- among them victories over Gonzaga, Auburn, Cincinnati and Kentucky. They'll take a two-game winning streak into Saturday's game with UK. | 1 | 12-0 |
| 25 |  | The Razorbacks' resume features five top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-65 losses. Arkansas is 6-1 in its past seven games. | 1 | 10-2 |
| 26 |  | The Hokies own five top-50 KenPom wins -- most notably victories over Virginia, Duke and North Carolina. Their resume features only one sub-50 loss. | NR | 5-7 |
In: Virginia Tech
Out: Rhode Island
