AP POLL ALERT: Auburn RISES.

It’s not much, but Auburn finally made a move up in the rankings.

True, it took a couple losses by the old #1 team to get the Tigers up to #7, but whatever needs to happen, I’m cool with it. Right now, Auburn’s the second-highest ranked SEC team after Tennessee, who had a monster week that included wins over #1 Gonzaga and at Memphis. Admiral Schofield is playing like a man possessed, and it’s pretty clear that the game of the year in the SEC will be played the last weekend of the regular season at Auburn Arena.

Other SEC teams in the rankings include Mississippi State at #17 and Kentucky at #19, while Florida’s hanging out in the Receiving Votes category.

For Auburn, this week will be a nice little test with a road trip to NC State (also receiving votes) and Murray State back at home before Christmas. Currently, NC State’s one of the hottest-shooting teams in the country, hitting better than 51% of their field goals overall.

Games to watch in the Top 25 this week include:

• 12/18 - #14 Buffalo @ Syracuse
• 12/19 - #7 Auburn @ NC State
• 12/20 - #2 Duke vs #12 Texas Tech
• 12/21 - #24 Furman @ LSU
• 12/21 - #14 Buffalo @ #20 Marquette
• 12/22 - #19 Kentucky @ #9 North Carolina
• 12/22 - #1 Kansas @ #18 Arizona State

Big week for hoops! If Auburn can get through unscathed, the Tigers may be in a position to have a top five team before SEC play begins. War Eagle!