Top-ranked Auburn has two road games this week. The Tigers will be favored in both but could theoretically lose either. So, with this in mind, I asked Kyle Boone a question on Sunday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast.
Here's the question: Have we reached the point where Auburn, which is No. 1 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, could take a Quadrant 1 loss — which is what a loss at LSU on Wednesday or a loss at Ole Miss on Saturday would be, based on current projections — and still be worthy of the No. 1 ranking?
Boone said yes.
I agree.
Obviously, we could have a long debate about which team is college basketball's best — Auburn, Duke, Houston, Iowa State or somebody else. -- because best is a subjective term. But there's really no debate about which team has college basketball's top resume.
It's Auburn by a lot.
The Tigers are 18-1 overall, 6-0 in the SEC and 11-1 in Quadrant 1. Do you realize how great 11-1 in Quadrant 1 is relative to the rest of the sport?
There's not another team in the country with 11 Q1 wins. Or 10. Or nine. Oregon ranks second nationally in Q1 wins with eight -- and nobody else has more than six. So, for the sake of the conversation, let's say Auburn loses at LSU on Wednesday. If it were to happen, Bruce Pearl's Tigers would still be 18-2 overall with an 11-2 record in Quadrant 1.
Duke is No. 2 in the Top 25 And 1.
Again, if Auburn loses at LSU on Wednesday, the Tigers (based on current projections) would still be 18-2 with an 11-2 record in Quadrant 1. At best, Duke, on Thursday morning, will also be 18-2 — but with only a 5-2 record in Quadrant 1. By my math, that means, even with a loss at LSU on Wednesday, No. 1 Auburn would have six more Q1 wins than No. 2 Duke and the same number of losses. Given that I'm always more or less trying to replicate the selection committee, and given that I believe every selection committee member with a brain would rank Auburn's resume above Duke's resume even after a hypothetical loss at LSU by Auburn (and, yes, even though Duke owns a December victory over Auburn at Cameron Indoor Stadium), I'm compelled to believe the Tigers are like a golfer with something like a 3-shot lead on the field. I wouldn't advise them to put a tee shot in the rough, miss the green and bogey the next hole, so to speak. But even if they did, they'd still be ahead of everybody else.
That's basically Auburn right now.
The Tigers have put together one of the best starts through 19 games in recent memory and are projected by KenPom.com to win the toughest league in the country by four games. That's crazy and why Pearl taking Auburn to its second Final Four, or first ever national championship, is very much in play for the winningest coach in program history.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johni Broome finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 53-51 win over Tennessee. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | -- | 27-3 |
| 2 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 24 points and six assists in Saturday's 63-56 win at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils' next game is Monday against NC State. | -- | 27-3 |
| 3 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 33 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 76-61 win at Arizona State. The Cyclones' next game is Monday at Arizona. | -- | 22-8 |
| 4 |  | Aden Holloway finished 19 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 80-73 win over LSU. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Mississippi State. | -- | 23-7 |
| 5 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 17 points and five steals in Saturday's 89-59 win over Georgia. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | -- | 26-4 |
| 6 |  | Zakai Zeigler was 4-of-15 from the field in Saturday's 51-53 loss at Tennessee. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 24-6 |
| 7 |  | Stevie Mitchell finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Friday's 87-74 win over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Butler. | -- | 22-8 |
| 8 |  | Jase Richardson finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 81-74 win over Rutgers. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Minnesota. | -- | 24-5 |
| 9 |  | Braden Smith finished with 24 points and 10 assists in Friday's 91-64 win over Michigan. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Indiana. | -- | 21-9 |
| 10 |  | J'Wan Roberts finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 92-86 double-overtime win at Kansas. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday at West Virginia. | -- | 26-4 |
| 11 |  | Koby Brea was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday's 74-69 loss to Vanderbilt. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at Tennessee. | -- | 20-10 |
| 12 |  | Riley Kugel finished with 15 points and two steals in Saturday's 65-60 win at South Carolina. The Bulldogs' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | -- | 20-10 |
| 13 |  | AJ Storr was 0-of-6 from the field in Saturday's 92-86 double-overtime loss to Houston. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against UCF. | -- | 19-11 |
| 14 |  | Nate Bittle was 0-of-3 from the field in Saturday's 77-69 loss at Minnesota. The Ducks' next game is Thursday at UCLA. | -- | 22-8 |
| 15 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with 23 points and nine assists in Sunday's 100-77 win over UAB. The Tigers' next game is Thursday at Tulane. | -- | 25-5 |
| 16 |  | Henry Coleman III was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday's 70-69 loss at Texas. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma. | -- | 21-9 |
| 17 |  | Tamar Bates finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 83-75 win over Ole Miss. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | -- | 21-9 |
| 18 |  | Kylan Boswell finished with 17 points and four assists in Sunday's 83-74 win over Northwestern. The Illini's next game is Thursday at Nebraska. | -- | 19-11 |
| 19 |  | John Tonje finished with 27 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 83-55 win over Nebraska. The Badgers' next game is Wednesday at Maryland. | -- | 23-7 |
| 20 |  | Sean Pedulla committed four turnovers in Saturday's 83-75 loss at Missouri. The Rebels' next game is Wednesday against Texas. | -- | 21-9 |
| 21 |  | Danny Wolf was 1 of 7 from the field in Friday's 91-64 loss at Purdue. The Wolverines' next game is Monday against Penn State. | -- | 22-8 |
| 22 |  | Kadary Richmond finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 79-71 win over Xavier. The Red Storm's next game is Tuesday at Georgetown. | -- | 26-4 |
| 23 |  | Reyne Smith finished with 30 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 98-73 win at SMU. The Cardinals' next game is Tuesday against Wake Forest. | -- | 24-6 |
| 24 |  | JT Toppin finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 81-71 win at Cincinnati. The Red Raiders' next game is Sunday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 23-7 |
| 25 |  | Chauncey Wiggins finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 72-57 win at Virginia Tech. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at NC State. | -- | 25-5 |
| 26 |  | Jason Edwards finished with 18 points and four assists in Saturday's 74-69 win over Kentucky. The Commodores' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 20-10 |
