Tennessee received 38 more first-place votes than Auburn in last week's Associated Press Top 25 poll. My guess is that the gap between the two programs will close some Monday when things update given what Bruce Pearl's Tigers just did to Purdue. But I still believe the Vols will remain No. 1.
Is it debatable?
Yes, it's definitely debatable considering Auburn is 11-1 with six Quadrant 1 wins against Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Memphis, Ohio State and Purdue coming by an average of 18.0 points. The Tigers also have a net rating at KenPom.com of +36.31, which is in the neighborhood of the +36.43 that UConn recorded last season while winning a second straight national championship.
By any metric, Auburn is awesome — elite on both ends and led by Johni Broome, a 6-foot-10 senior who is averaging 18.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game. It's totally sensible to call the Tigers the sport's best team. There's a lot of data to support it. But I'm sticking with Tennessee at No. 1 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, mostly because the Vols have been No. 1 for 19 straight days and done nothing to lose their spot.
Like I explained Sunday, no, Tennessee cannot match Auburn win-for-win — but the Vols do have big wins, specifically a 77-62 victory over Baylor, a 77-55 win at Louisville and a 66-64 triumph at Illinois that registers as one of the best true road victories anybody has recorded this season. Plus, the Vols still have a zero in the loss column whereas Auburn has that 84-78 loss at Duke on its resume.
So, for now at least, I'm sticking with Tennessee at No. 1 and Auburn at No. 2. The good news is that we'll get to settle this on the court next month, when Auburn hosts Tennessee on the 25th. Odds are, the Vols won't still be undefeated by the time that game arrives -- but they could be! And, either way, Neville Arena will be rocking on that Saturday night, evidence being how the least-expensive ticket for Tennessee-Auburn on StubHub is currently listed for $333.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 84-36 win over Western Carolina. The Vols' next game is Monday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 11-0 |
| 2 |  | Johni Broome finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 87-69 win over Purdue. The Tigers' next game is Monday against Monmouth. | -- | 11-1 |
| 3 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 20 points and five assists in Sunday's 99-71 win over Morgan State. The Cyclones' next game is Dec. 30 at Colorado. | -- | 10-1 |
| 4 |  | Kon Knueppel finished with 18 points and five assists in Saturday's 82-56 win at Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils' next game is Dec. 31 against Virginia Tech. | -- | 10-2 |
| 5 |  | Mark Sears finished with 16 points and two steals in Sunday's 81-54 win over Kent State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Sunday against South Dakota State. | -- | 10-2 |
| 6 |  | Zeke Mayo finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 87-53 win over Brown. The Jayhawks' next game is Dec. 31 against West Virginia. | -- | 9-2 |
| 7 |  | Will Richard finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 99-45 win over North Florida. The Gators' next game is Dec. 29 against Stetson. | -- | 12-0 |
| 8 |  | Kam Jones finished with 20 points and eight assists in Saturday's 73-70 win at Xavier. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | -- | 11-2 |
| 9 |  | Jaxson Robinson was 3-of-11 from the field in Saturday's 85-65 loss to Ohio State. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Brown. | -- | 10-2 |
| 10 |  | Coen Carr finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 86-69 win over Florida Atlantic. The Spartans' next game is Dec. 30 against Western Michigan. | -- | 10-2 |
| 11 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 25 points and four steals in Saturday's 80-62 win over Queens. The Rebels' next game is Saturday at Memphis. | -- | 11-1 |
| 12 |  | Kwame Evans Jr. finished with 13 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 76-61 win over Stanford. The Ducks' next game is Dec. 29 against Weber State. | -- | 11-1 |
| 13 |  | Riley Kugel finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 79-66 win at Memphis. The Bulldogs' next game is Dec. 30 against Bethune Cookman. | -- | 11-1 |
| 14 |  | Hayden Hefner finished with 19 points and two steals in Friday's 77-45 win over Houston Christian. The Aggies' next game is Dec. 28 against Abilene Christian. | -- | 10-2 |
| 15 |  | Selton Miguel finished with 24 points and two steals in Saturday's 87-60 win over Syracuse. The Terrapins' next game is Saturday against Maryland Eastern Shore. | -- | 10-2 |
| 16 |  | Dylan Andrew was 1-of-6 from the field in Saturday's 75-74 loss to North Carolina. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | -- | 10-2 |
| 17 |  | Braden Smith was 3-of-12 from the field in Saturday's 87-69 loss to Auburn. The Boilermakers' next game is Dec. 29 against Toledo. | -- | 8-4 |
| 18 |  | Kasparas Jakucionis finished with 21 points and four assists in Sunday's 80-77 win over Missouri. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Chicago State. | -- | 8-3 |
| 19 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 21 points and six rebonds in Saturday's 78-74 win at Butler. The Huskies' next game is Jan. 1 at DePaul. | -- | 10-3 |
| 20 |  | Graham Ike finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 86-65 win over Bucknell. The Zags' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | -- | 9-3 |
| 21 |  | Nick Boyd finished with 17 points and four steals in Saturday's 71-50 win over Cal. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against Utah State. | -- | 8-2 |
| 22 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 87-51 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christie. The Cougars' next game is Dec. 30 at Oklahoma State. | -- | 8-3 |
| 23 |  | Duke Miles finished with 29 points and three assists in Sunday's 89-66 win over Central Arkansas. The Sooners' next game is Sunday against Prairie View A&M. | -- | 12-0 |
| 24 |  | Asa Newell finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 100-49 win over Buffalo. The Bulldogs' next game is Sunday against Charleston Southern. | -- | 11-1 |
| 25 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 94-69 win over Norfolk State. The Bears' next game is Friday against Arlington Baptist. | -- | 7-3 |
| 26 |  | Ian Jackson finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 76-74 win over UCLA. The Tar Heels' next game is Dec. 29 against Campbell. | -- | 7-5 |
