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Five expectations for Auburn football's quarterbacks under Hugh Freeze Lance Dawe 5–6 minutes Home Auburn Daily Football Here are five things we can expect out of Hugh Freeze's quarterbacks at Auburn. New Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is known as a bit of a quarterback guru. Now entering his first season on the Plains, Freeze will have that reputation put to the test. Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford was thrown into the fire as a freshman and unsurprisingly struggled in a variety of areas - accuracy, decision making, turnovers, etc. However, he did flash glimpses of potential, rushing for over 700 yards and finished sixth in the SEC in yards per completion (min. 100 attempts). Unless Freeze decides to roll with a quarterback out of the portal, he's going to have the chance to build on Ashford's foundation and unlock his potential. Regardless of who the signal-caller is, here are five things we can expect out of Freeze's quarterbacks at Auburn. More gambling Jason Homan/ Auburn Daily Over the course of his ten seasons coaching Division I college football, Hugh Freeze quarterbacks throw an interception on 2.9% of their passes. Compare this to Auburn, who from 2013-2022 threw a pick on 2.1% of their passes. The gap between these two styles of play starts to shift when you look at interception totals - Hugh Freeze QB's 117 interceptions to Auburn's 65 - but that's not a fair comparison because of two reasons. One, the Tigers have thrown the ball significantly less than the average SEC team over the last decade. Two, there's a two-year gap in the Hugh Freeze numbers because he was out of coaching. Only twice has Auburn eclipsed double-digit interceptions since 2013. Hugh Freeze quarterbacks have done it seven out of his nine seasons. More turnovers come with throwing the ball more. Especially in Freeze's offenses. More explosive play Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports While turnovers may be a downside, more explosive play is also to be expected from Freeze signal-callers. During his time at Ole Miss, Freeze never had a passing offense finish outside of the top five in the SEC in yards per game and only had one aerial attack step outside the top five of the league in yards per attempt. If we're looking at this year specifically, there's reason to expect Auburn's receiver room to be used pretty differently considering the blend of size and speed the Tigers have in the rotation. Physical, big-bodied receivers are what have thrived in Freeze's systems in the past - and part of it has to do with the downfield passing from his quarterback. This isn't Joe Burrow and the 2019 LSU Tigers by any stretch. However, fans should be excited about a more, well, exciting passing game. Better accuracy Eric Starling/Auburn Daily Seven of Freeze's ten offenses have seen better completion percentages than Auburn's passing attacks in the same year. We won't sit here and tell you that every year Freeze beat out the Tigers' passing attack by a wide margin in that category, but it's not unfair to say Freeze's quarterbacks have had a consistent edge over Auburn's from a raw numbers perspective - more reps, completions, accuracy, etc. If we're talking specifically about this upcoming season, there's little doubt that Ashford will improve on his 49.5% completion percentage. Dual-threat abilities Eric Starling/Auburn Daily Freeze has utilized his quarterback's legs to not just produce yardage, but to actually get in the endzone. His starting signal-callers have averaged 447.1 yards on the ground per season to go along with 7.5 rushing touchdowns. What's interesting about Freeze's use of dual-threat quarterbacks is that the more he's used them in a given season, the better the team has done overall. Now, the utilization of a QBs legs may not directly correlate to wins, but it does indicate that the offense probably performs better and therefore the team as a whole is more competitive. Four of Freeze's ten seasons have included his starting quarterback rushing for over 500 yards. Those teams went a combined 38-11 (0.78 win percentage) and produced all three of his ten-win seasons. It does make one wonder what could be in store if Auburn were to ride with Robby Ashford and improve his passing game... Big performances in big wins Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Excluding 2012, Hugh Freeze is 5-7 against top 10 opponents. In those five wins, his quarterbacks produced some solid (averaged) stat lines: - 314.4 passing yards per game - 10 total TD/2 INT - 79.6 QBR When the quarterback plays well in important contests, the team plays well.

Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley returns to team River Wells ~2 minutes One of Auburn’s quarterbacks that appeared to be leaving at the end of last year may be staying with the team after all. Nathan King of 247sports reported on Wednesday that quarterback T.J. Finley, who appeared to have left the team after the firing of coach Bryan Harsin, is back with the Tigers for their winter workouts. Finley began 2022 as the team’s starter before eventually being phased out for quarterback Robby Ashford. Buy Tigers Tickets Finley came to Auburn after transferring to the Plains from LSU in 2021. He had his career-best completion percentage over a season in 2022 with 62.3 percent, but he threw just one touchdown to four interceptions. In any year where he’s had more than 100 attempts, Finley has never had a completion percentage over 60 percent. The senior returns to the team after leaving it for the last four games last year for reasons unrelated to injury – Finley got injured earlier in the year and then did not win the job back from Ashford for the rest of the year. Finley never entered the portal, however, and he appears to be back with the team once again under new head coach Hugh Freeze. It’s unknown who Freeze intends to have under center for 2023, but Finley could be in the mix with his return to the roster.

Meet the transfers: Auburn's 10 portal pickups so far Nathan King 7–9 minutes Hugh Freeze's 2023 roster rebuild is now 10 transfers in, and it's so far, so good for the Tigers in terms of restoring depth to various position groups, and adding starting-caliber players to others. Auburn needed to hit the portal hard in order to field a competitive squad this fall, and Freeze and his new staff have done so, especially in the past couple weeks, where the Tigers have added six transfers in the past four days. With the winter portal entry window closing next Thursday, here's a snapshot of the Tigers' current transfer haul, as Auburn now has the nation's No. 3 transfer class, according to 247Sports' transfer rankings. TE Rivaldo Fairweather (FIU Athletics) Previous school: FIU Committed to Auburn: Dec. 18 Career stats (3 seasons): 54 catches, 838 yards, 5 TDs 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 6 TE Auburn Undercover's take: Under new position coach Ben Aigamaua, who comes over from Liberty after spending all four seasons under Freeze there, Fairweather brings strong production to one of the most experienced units on Auburn’s roster. Freeze has a history of utilizing hybrid, big-bodied targets in the passing game, which Fairweather and Landen King seem to fit the mold of. DE Elijah McAllister (Doug Engle / Syndication: The Gainesville Sun, USA TODAY Sports) Previous school: Vanderbilt Committed to Auburn: Dec. 20 Career stats (3 seasons): 65 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 INT 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 8 EDGE Auburn Undercover's take: McAllister dealt with a couple knee injuries at Vanderbilt but still represents an important pickup at an extremely thin group of pass-rushers for Auburn. With former Western Kentucky transfer Marcus Bragg also out of eligibility, Dylan Brooks, a former top-100 recruit, is the only scholarship player returning from last year's edge rushers room. OT Dillon Wade (Troy Taormina, USA TODAY) Previous school: Tulsa Committed to Auburn: Dec. 23 Career stats (2 seasons): 12 starts, 17 game appearances 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 3 OT Auburn Undercover's take: Wade was rated so highly in the portal for a reason, despite only starting one season at the Group of Five level: He's displayed significant growth in each of his two college seasons in which he saw the field, and his film was highly respected once he hit the transfer portal, garnering offers from Auburn, USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, TCU, Ole Miss and Colorado, among others. If Wade slides in as seamlessly as Auburn hopes at the ever-important spot of left tackle, he could end up being one of, if not the most important transfer for Auburn in 2023. OT Gunner Britton (Michael Allio, Getty) Previous school: Western Kentucky Committed to Auburn: Jan. 5 Career stats (4 seasons): 19 starts, 45 game appearances 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 5 OT Auburn Undercover's take: With SEC-ready size at 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, Britton boasts plenty of experience — and versatility — at the Group of Five level. If Wade is ready to take over Auburn's left-tackle opening, Britton could do the same at right tackle, as he was another crucial addition, considering Auburn returns just one player from last year's team (Colby Smith) who has any experience playing tackle. DT Mosiah Nasili-Kite (Maryland Athletics) Previous school: Maryland Committed to Auburn: Jan. 8 Career stats (3 seasons): 80 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, 9 sacks, 1 fumble recovery 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 10 DL Auburn Undercover's take: Nasili-Kite represents exactly what the Tigers needed from the transfer ranks along the defensive front: a veteran to complement returning starters Marcus Harris and Jayson Jones who appears ready to contribute well from Day 1. It's also a bonus that Nasili-Kite was versatile enough with the Terrapins, at 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds, to play a variety of spots along the D-line, and he was a strong pass-rusher, too, finishing No. 2 on the team in QB pressures last season. LB Demario Tolan (Jon Korduner, Getty) Previous school: LSU Committed to Auburn: Jan. 8 Career stats (1 season): 10 tackles 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 8 LB Auburn Undercover's take: A versatile athlete at 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, Tolan isn't a proven contributor joining Ron Roberts' defense. He's not a plug-and-play addition who will automatically contender for a spot in the starting rotation. But the former top-200 recruit does represent a boost to a position group that doesn't have much in terms of proven depth after the loss of Owen Pappoe, who's off to the NFL draft. DT Lawrence Johnson (Joe Robbins, Getty) Previous school: Purdue Committed to Auburn: Jan. 8 Career stats (4 seasons): 88 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 20 DL Auburn Undercover's take: Johnson helps Auburn with its continued alleviation of pressure on the youngsters on the D-line, allowing for patient development and progression under the new defensive staff. While Auburn may not have as dominant a force in 2023 as someone like Colby Wooden, it's bulking up the defensive front with experience in hopes of offsetting its losses by committee, and its rotation next season might be capable of going deeper than in 2022. WR Nick Mardner (Ian Johnson, Getty) Previous school: Cincinnati Committed to Auburn: Jan. 9 Career stats (4 seasons): 81 catches, 1,488 yards, 11 TDs 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 25 WR Auburn Undercover's take: Rejoining his former position coach Marcus Davis, who coached him at Hawaii in 2021, Mardner joins a receiving corps with plenty of intriguing pieces but not many standouts. At 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, Mardner will compete with rising sophomore Camden Brown on the outside. Mardner's best college season came under Davis' tutelage at Hawaii, when he was an All-Mountain West selection with 46 receptions, 913 yards and five touchdowns. RB Brian Battie (Will Turner, 247Sports) Previous school: USF Committed to Auburn: Jan. 9 Career stats (3 seasons): 1,842 yards, 10 TDs; 24.2 yards per kick return, 3 TDs 247Sports transfer ranking: No. 8 RB Auburn Undercover's take: To help offset the loss of Tank Bigsby, Auburn could have done a whole lot worse than bringing in a 1,000-yard rusher in 2022 and a special teams All-American in 2021. He'll obviously be expected to make a huge impact in the Tigers' return units, but in Cadillac Williams' room, Battie serves as a highly productive veteran to pair with Jarquez Hunter, who figures to be Auburn's lead back after waiting behind Bigsby for two seasons. ">247Sports

Former Auburn quarterback Zach Calzada finds transfer destination River Wells ~2 minutes Former Tigers quarterback Zach Calzada has found his new home. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday that Calzada plans on transferring to Incarnate Word. The Cardinals will be Calzada’s third team in his college career, following Texas A&M and Auburn. Buy Tigers Tickets To say Calzada’s Auburn tenure was uneventful may be selling it short — he never played a game for the Tigers in the one season he was on the roster for Bryan Harsin. Calzada came to the Plains after a season at Texas A&M in 2021, but his tenure was marred by a shoulder injury that required surgery and thus he never saw the field where quarterbacks T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford got playing time over the course of the season. It would seem that coach Hugh Freeze didn’t have Calzada in his plans, as he entered the transfer portal and now has subsequently found a landing spot with Incarnate Word. Incarnate Word is an FCS team, but it’s quite a successful one. The Cardinals made the FCS Championship semifinals and lost a close game to the North Dakota State Bison. Calzada, with SEC experience at Texas A&M, should be a valuable addition to the Cardinals’ roster.

Auburn now ranks No. 3 in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, behind Florida State and Colorado. this is so bad ass!!! i skipped the article because i have already posted similar articles today but the above makes me go SICK EM TIGERS!

What Hugh Freeze's WR No. 2 has done for his offenses Lance Dawe 2–3 minutes Auburn's passing attack took a steep decline in 2021. Eric Kiesau and Bryan Harsin failed to produce over 200 yards passing per contest for Auburn for the first time since 2016 - a year where the Tigers still went 8-5 because of their dominant ground game and stout defense. That is expected to change under new head coach Hugh Freeze - almost dramatically. The average No. 2 receiver in a Hugh Freeze offense outperformed Auburn's best receiver in 2022. Stat of the Day: No. 2 receiver Stats 2011 (Arkansas State) - Taylor Stockemer 48 rec. 756 yards (15.8 YPC), 7 TD 2012 (Ole Miss) - Vince Sanders 39 rec. 504 yards (12.9 YPC), 4 TD 2013 (Ole Miss) - Laquon Treadwell 72 rec. 608 yards (8.4 YPC), 5 TD 2014 (Ole Miss) - Evan Engram 48 rec. 662 yards (17.4 YPC), 2 TD 2015 (Ole Miss) - Cody Core 37 rec. 644 yards (17.4 YPC), 4 TD 2016 (Ole Miss) - Damore'ea Stringfellow 46 rec. 716 yards (15.6 YPC), 6 TD 2019 (Liberty) - DJ Stubbs 32 rec. 401 yards (12.5 YPC), 3 TD 2020 (Liberty) - Kevin Shaa 25 rec. 450 yards (18.0 YPC), 4 TD 2021 (Liberty) - CJ Daniels 37 rec. 629 yards (17.0 YPC) 7 TD 2022 (Liberty) -Noah Firth 25 rec. 446 yards (17.8 YPC), 1 TD The average No. 2 receiver in a Hugh Freeze offense produces 41 receptions for 518 yards (12.6 YPC) and 4.3 TD. What it Means: Regardless of what happens, Auburn's passing game is sure to take a step in the right direction. The Tigers aerial attack only averaged about 172 yards per game in 2022, and with either an improved Robby Ashford or transfer portal QB at the helm in 2023, things should immediately get better under Freeze. Auburn's lead receiver Ja'Varrius Johnson was underneath Freeze's No. 2 WR average - just 493 yards and 3 TD.

Auburn signs East Carolina center transfer Avery Jones Christian Clemente 3–4 minutes Avery Jones was set to spend his final season at Illinois after transferring from East Carolina, instead he'll spend it at Auburn after announcing his commitment on Tuesday. Jones is the No. 3 interior offensive lineman in the 247Sports transfer portal player rankings and the No. 29 overall player. The center who started every game for the Pirates in 2022 has one year of eligibility remaining. Originally a 4-star recruit in the Class of 2018, Jones started his career at North Carolina. Jones was rated as the No. 144 player and No. 4 guard by 247Sports. In the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Jones was the No. 285 player and the No. 13 guard. Jones transferred to East Carolina and became a workhorse along the inside of the offensive line for the Pirates from 2020 onward. Starting his ECU career as a guard in 2020, Jones started in eight of nine games. Jones moved to center ahead of the 2021 season and started in 11 of their 12 games, playing 874 snaps and earning a PFF grade of 59.6. In the 2022 season, Jones played every game at center, grading out with a mark of 63.2, but excelling as a pass blocker with a grade of 76.9. Jones led the team with 852 snaps this past offseason. As a graduate transfer, Jones is listed by East Carolina at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds. Jones is the third transfer addition to Auburn's offensive line, joining former Western Kentucky tackle Gunner Britton and former Tulsa tackle Dillon Wade. It's an impressive haul for Jake Thornton and Hugh Freeze, restocking an offensive line room that was in desperate need of immediate help. Overall, Jones marks transfer addition No. 10 for Auburn this portal cycle, with still plenty more needs to fill. That includes offensive line, as Auburn is still in pursuit of adding another guard and potentially another offensive tackle, too. Entering the transfer portal on Dec. 8, Jones committed to Illinois a few days later on Dec. 12. Just over a month later, Jones now finds himself an Auburn commit. From the 2022 roster, Tate Johnson returns after starting the season at center before a season-ending injury. Johnson, along with incoming freshmen Connor Lew and Bradyn Joiner make up the current center room, with Jones now on the way. 42COMMENTS Jones is originally from Havelock, North Carolina and graduated in December with a degree in communication. Since 2017, Auburn has signed a combined 16 offensive linemen. In the 2023 cycle alone, Auburn has now added eight offensive linemen. ">247Sports

Bret Bielema, Illinois HC, tweets interesting reaction to newest Auburn transfer commit, Illini target Corey Long 1–2 minutes Illinois coach Bret Bielema has had an interesting day on social media. It all stems around the recruitment of transfer offensive lineman Avery Jones. Jones, who began his career in North Carolina, started for the Pirates over the past three seasons, spending time at guard and center. He committed to Illinois out of the transfer portal on December 13. But Tuesday afternoon Auburn swooped in to grab the graduate transfer for his final year of eligiliblity. This seem to have caught Bielema by surprise. The coach also seems to know the reason why Jones make the flip. The addition of the transfer portal and NIL deals remains one that the coaches are still trying to get a hold of. Although Jones was committed to Illinois, he was not bound to the school until he signed a scholarship. Apparently he had not signed a scholarship yet and now he will suit up for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers.

Four Tigers step up in SEC basketball road win at Ole Miss Mark Murphy 6–8 minutes OXFORD, Mississippi–Four Tigers scored in double figures, including Johni Broome who came through with a fourth consecutive double-double, as Auburn defeated Ole Miss 82-71 on Tuesday night. Auburn improved to 3-1 in the SEC and 13-3 overall this basketball season. Broome hit 8-13 field goals for 19 points and pulled in 11 rebounds. He was 3-4 at the foul line on a night the Tigers made 18-22 free throws. Wendell Green led the Tigers in scoring with 23 points while dishing out seven assists with just two turnovers. Green was 11-11 at the foul line. He added five rebounds and three steals. "Wendell Green was the best point guard on the floor," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who added, "Wendell Green controlled the tempo of this game." The Tigers got 15 points off bench from senior forward Allen Flanigan while another senior forward, Jaylin Williams, scored a dozen points and made all four of his field goals after halftime. Williams added five assists and two steals plus three rebounds. Flanigan led all players in plus/minus with the Tigers outscoring the Rebels by 11 points when the senior forward was on the court for a team-leading 34 minutes with starter Chris Moore going down early with a shoulder injury. Flanigan added two assists and did not have a turnover on a night the Tigers had 10 for the game to eight for the home team. "It was good see a lot of guys step up and make shots, but we have got to be a lot better defensively if we want to win this conference," said Flanigan, who hit 4-5 shots in the second half. "Road wins are huge in the SEC because it is a dog fight every night," Flanigan added. "There are a lot of good teams in the SEC. There are a lot of teams that can upset you. It is about taking every game seriously and showing up to play–especially in road games you have to play against the home crowd advantage they have and sometimes that gives teams streaky shots and stuff." Matthew Murrell of Ole Miss was the game-high scorer with 24 points, but his team fell to 8-8 overall and 0-4 in the SEC. Jaemyn Brakefield scored 12 points for Ole Miss. It was a third consecutive victory for the Tigers against the Rebels. Auburn did it by outscoring the home team 48-38 in the second half. The Tigers also did a good job rebounding, finishing with 38, 10 more than Ole Miss. Auburn made 17-28 shots in the second half (60.7 percent) to secure the victory. The good shooting for the visitors was a must to win the game with the Rebels making 50 percent (12-24) of their shots in the second half, including 5-12 treys. "That was wonderful," Pearl said. "It's hard to win on the road." The coach pointed out that the play of Broome was a big part of the win. "Again, he was the best big on the floor. He is just so consistent. He gives us that inside scoring threat at the five (center position) that not a lot of teams in the league have. We have got to continue to do a better job with that." The first half was tight with 10 lead changes. Ole Miss led by seven points at the 13:27 mark at 17-10, but Auburn put together an 8-0 run to take the lead at 20-19. However, the Tigers led just for three minutes and 18 seconds in the first half. Broome was Auburn’s main offensive threat in the first half with 12 points while hitting 5-7 field goals. He also pulled in seven rebounds helping the Tigers finish the half at plus nine in rebounding margin. Johni Broome gets the basketball near the goal and looks to score. (Photo: Petre Thomas, USA TODAY Sports) Auburn hit 13-32 field goals (40.6 percent), 1-8 threes and 7-8 free throws in the first half. Ole Miss hit 12-31 (38.7 percent) from the field, 4-13 threes and 7-7 free throws. Auburn led almost the entire second half and the Tigers built the lead to 14 points at the 7:41 mark of the period as Green made two free throws to put his team up 62-48. The Rebels cut the lead to 74-65, but a jump shot by Green and six free throws by the point guard helped seal the victory for the visitors. For the game the Tigers made 30-61 field goals (49.2 percent) and hit 4-14 threes. Ole Miss hit 24-55 field goals (43.6 percent) and 9-25 threes while cashing in on 16 of 18 free throw attempts. The Rebels, one of the country's top offensive rebounding teams, finished with six, half of Auburn's total. The Tigers finished with 26 defensive rebounds, four more than Ole Miss. "Their 1-3-1 (zone defense) bothered us a little bit, but I thought we did make some shots," Pearl said. "Al had a big series in there where he made some big shots, took over a little bit. Wendell took over a little bit. Johni took over a little bit. I just think it's players making plays. "The biggest thing we have emphasized is if you get deep in this league, you get in the paint, you get too deep, it's not a lot of good things happening in there. We have done a good job of not getting ourselves in trouble by not getting in there too deep so (we had) good shots. We only turned the ball over four times in the second half." Worth Noting, Part 1: Starting forward Chris Moore injured his shoulder early in the game and did not return. Pearl said the junior has a separated shoulder and won't know until later in the week how serious the injury is. Worth Noting Part 2: Pearl praised freshman Yohan Traore for contributing during his nine minutes on the court. He scored two points and finished second on the team in plus/minus at plus nine. "Yohan had his best run first half," the coach said. "It was great to see Yohan in there. He played well." Broome Cleans Up at JPB Pavilion: The 6-10, 235 center has four straight double-doubles. The last Auburn player to do that was Cinmeon Bowersduring the 2015-16 season. Broome's came against SEC opponents. Bowers did his in non-conference play against Middle Tennessee, Mercer, Xavier and New Mexico. Broome has five double-doubles this season and 40 counting two seasons at Morehead State. Stats of the Game: The Tigers made 18-22 free throws in addition to outscoring Ole Miss 46-26 for points in the paint. Box Score

auburnwire.usatoday.com Instant Analysis: Strong second half lifts Auburn to victory at Ole Miss Taylor Jones ~3 minutes Tuesday’s game between No. 22 Auburn and Ole Miss began as a tight contest and appeared that the winner would be crowned within the final minute of the contest. However, after strong second-half adjustments, Auburn outscored Ole Miss 48-38 in the second half to earn the 82-73 win at The Pavillion at Ole Miss in Oxford. Buy Tigers Tickets After trailing by one point at halftime, Auburn came out of the locker room on a 12-4 run through the first five minutes of the second half to give them the 46-41 lead. Wendell Green Jr. opened the final half with six quick points. After going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, Auburn also made adjustments to attack the rim more in the second half, as they scored 46 points in the paint, 22 came in the second half. Four players reached double-figures in scoring, led by Wendell Green Jr.’s 23, Allen Flanigan with 15, and 12 points from Jaylin Williams. Johni Broome recorded his fourth-straight double-double with 11 rebounds to go with his 19 points, which is the first since cinmeon bowers accomplished the feat during the 2015-16 season. Both teams traded leads three times in the final 3:42 of the first half, which ended with Ole Miss taking a 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. Auburn actually out-shot Ole Miss, 41% to 38% through the first 20 minutes, but three-point shooting and turning turnovers into points separated the Rebels in the end. Johni Broome ended the half with 12 points and seven rebounds, Allen Flanigan was next with six points. Ole Miss jumped early on Auburn by taking a 15-10 lead at the under-15 media timeout. The Rebels’ hot start was fueled by their key players Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield, who combined to score 11 of Ole Miss’ 15 points. Broome scored the first seven points of the contest for Auburn, while Zep Jasper hit a three-pointer with 15:15 remaining in the half to put Auburn in double-digits. Ole Miss led by as many as seven before Auburn stormed back to take a 20-19 lead. K.D. Johnson’s second-chance layup gave Auburn their first lead since the 16:34 mark. Auburn returns to Neville Arena Saturday to host Mississippi State for a 7:30 p.m. CT tip-off. Before visiting Auburn, the Bulldogs will visit Georgia on Wednesday.

Johni Broome's 4th straight double-double leads No. 21 Auburn past Ole Miss Updated: Jan. 10, 2023, 11:11 p.m.|Published: Jan. 10, 2023, 10:17 p.m. 7–9 minutes Johni Broome may be a newcomer at Auburn, but the big man has been around long enough to know what works. It’s why, when asked Monday about his string of three straight double-doubles, he somewhat downplayed the significance of that individual feat while acknowledging it felt good to be the first Auburn player since Austin Wiley in 2019-20 to accomplish it. Read more Auburn sports: Auburn’s Suni Lee opens 2023 with SEC Gymnast of the Week honor Auburn flips transfer from Illinois, brings in center Avery Jones Auburn basketball moves up in Week 10 AP poll “From my collegiate years, double-doubles help your team win,” Broome said, matter-of-factly. “That means you’re doing good things on the court. I’m rebounding. I’m scoring. I’m producing on both ends of the court. If I do my job, the rest of the guys are going to follow up and do their job, and we’ll win games.” Broome put that to the test again Tuesday night on the road, putting together his fourth consecutive double-double — finishing with 19 points (on 8-of-13 shooting) and 11 rebounds — to lead No. 21 Auburn to an 82-73 win against Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. In the process, the Morehead State transfer became the first Auburn player in seven seasons (Cinmeon Bowers in 2015-16) to post four double-doubles in a row. Broome didn’t waste time in notching his latest one, either. He scored the first seven points of the game for Auburn, then closed the half with a dunk in the final seconds to get the Tigers within one at the break and give him 12 points and eight boards in the opening stanza despite hurting his thumb on the final defensive possession of the half. He then opened the second half with a layup to put Auburn ahead by one — a lead the Tigers would never relinquish — and he secured his 10th rebound with 17:18 to play after contesting a transition layup by Ole Miss’ Myles Burns and corralling the miss. “Johni Broome, again, the best big on the floor,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Just so consistent and just gives us that inside scoring threat at the five that not a lot of teams in the league have.” Broome now has 40 career double-doubles, as his teams improved to 30-10 in those games. Auburn, meanwhile, moved to 13-3 on the season and improved to 3-1 in SEC play as the Tigers kicked off a pivotal stretch with a welcomed win away from Neville Arena. “Road wins are huge in the SEC because, I mean, it’s a dogfight every night,” senior wing Allen Flanigan said. “There’s a lot of good teams in the SEC, and there’s a lot of teams that can upset you too, so just taking every game seriously and showing up to play, and especially on road games. Road games are huge.” Here are AL.com’s key takeaways from Tuesday’s action: Chris Moore injures his shoulder Chris Moore has started all 16 games for Auburn this season, but his status moving forward is now in question. Moore left Tuesday’s game early in the first half after injuring his right shoulder in the game’s opening minutes, and he did not return to the court. Moore checked out with 17:36 to go in the first half after sustaining the injury, and he clutched his right shoulder as he went to the bench to get checked out by the team trainer. When Auburn came out of the locker room at halftime, Moore had his right arm in a sling, and the team officially ruled out a return against the Rebels. Moore’s absence resulted in a larger workload for Allen Flanigan (more on him in a minute) and saw Bruce Pearl turn to Lior Berman for some relief at the three-spot. Berman played just four minutes and only recorded a foul on a rebound attempt, while Flanigan logged a season-high 34 minutes off the bench. Pearl did not have an update on Moore after the game, only saying that the junior separated his shoulder. Moore will undergo an MRI on Wednesday after the team gets back to Auburn, at which point Pearl will know more about the extent of the injury. Allen Flanigan is finding his groove Allen Flanigan is finally getting back to his old self and playing some of the best basketball of his career, and it showed Tuesday. The Tigers’ senior wing scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and finished with five rebounds and a pair of assists without committing a turnover. He was also 5-of-5 shooting in the second half. “I just went in there and did what I’m supposed to do for this team,” Flanigan said. “That’s one of my jobs on this team it to be aggressive night in and night out, and pick us up wherever we need to be picked up, whether that’s rebounding, playing harder defensively, getting guys shots or taking shots.” It marked the third consecutive game in double figures for Flanigan, giving him his best scoring stretch since returning from his partially torn Achilles injury last season. It’s the first stretch of three straight double-figure scoring games for Flanigan since late in his sophomore season, when he strung together eight such games for the Tigers. During that eight-game stretch in the 2020-21 season, Flanigan averaged 15 points per outing and shot 38-of-86 (44.2 percent) from the field, including 11-of-35 (31.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Over his last three games, Flanigan is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field, including 36.3 percent (4-of-11) from deep. “He’s really trying to work on his game and be productive,” Pearl said. “And being aggressive without trying to force the issue. Played great defense (too).” Auburn seized control after halftime The first half at The Pavilion was a relatively close affair, and one during which Ole Miss held an advantage for much of the game’s opening 20 minutes. That changed at halftime, which was all about Auburn. After trailing by one at the break, the Tigers seized control early in the second half and never looked back. Auburn opened the half on a 12-4 run in the first 4 minutes and 34 seconds out of the locker room, turning that narrow deficit into a seven-point lead. During that stretch, Broome hit the go-ahead layup to open the second half, while Flanigan scored four points and Wendell Green Jr. knocked down a pair of 3-pointers (after going 0-of-2 from beyond the arc in the first half). “It was good just seeing different guys step up and make shots,” Flanigan said, “but we got to be a lot better defensively if we want to win this conference.” Ole Miss, meanwhile, hit just three of its first 10 shot attempts in the second half and never could quite recover. Auburn staked a 10-point lead on a Dylan Cardwell dunk with 12:19 to play, and the Tigers maintained a double-digit advantage for much the rest of the way. Auburn led by as many as 14, and its lead never fell below seven points over the game’s final 13 minutes. Along with Broome’s big double-double and Flanigan’s third straight double-figure outing, Green scored a season-high 23 points to go along with seven assists (against just two turnovers) and five rebounds, while Jaylin Williams added 12 points and five assists for the Tigers. Green’s 23 points also matched his Auburn career best, which he previously set against Alabama last season. “I think our offense is starting to come together -- guys are starting to play better, myself included,” Green said. “We feel very comfortable out there. We’re just playing. They played pretty good defense and switched it up a lot. We’re just very comfortable. I like how we’re going. We’re progressing.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde. 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5 takeaways from Auburn's 82-73 win at Ole Miss Nathan King 9–11 minutes The sky was falling for some Auburn fans last week after a loss at Georgia. Since, the Tigers have won back-to-back SEC contests with a pair of impressive performances. No. 21 Auburn had four scorers reach double figures, and used a big second half to pull away from Ole Miss on the road Tuesday night, winning 82-73 in Oxford for the team's fifth victory in the past seven meetings in the series. "I think our offense is starting to come together," point guard Wendell Green Jr. said postgame. "Guys are starting to play better, myself included. We feel very comfortable out there. We're just playing. They played pretty good defense and switched it up a lot. We're just very comfortable. I like how we're going. We're progressing." Auburn has now started 3-1 or better in SEC play in four of the past six seasons. Here are Auburn Undercover's five biggest takeaways. Moore injured, but Flanigan steps up again Junior starting forward Chris Moore fouled Matthew Murrell on a drive to the basket less than three minutes into the game and immediately grabbed his right shoulder, wincing. He exited the game, went to the locker room then returned to the bench still in the first half, but didn’t check back in. After halftime, Moore’s arm was in a sling, and his shoulder iced. His backup, the senior wing Allen Flanigan, continued his success in SEC play, though, with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Flanigan has now reached double figures scoring in three straight games after only doing so three times in the first 13 games. "I just went in there and did what I’m supposed to do for this team," Flanigan said. "That’s one of my jobs on this team it to be aggressive night in and night out, and pick us up wherever we need to be picked up, whether that’s rebounding, playing harder defensively, getting guys shots or taking shots.” Playing a season-high 34 minutes with zero turnovers, Flanigan poured in 9 points during a 19-8 run for Auburn to open the second half, as the Tigers went up double digits on a Dylan Cardwell put-back dunk with 12:04 left. Pearl had no update on Moore after the win. He said Moore's shoulder separated, and he'll have an MRI back in Auburn on Wednesday. Veteran big men stand out Johni Broome continues to prove himself as Auburn’s go-to scorer and arguably the team’s most important player for the better part of the past three weeks. The junior center scored Auburn’s first 7 points of the night, had 12 in the first half and finished with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead the Tigers. He logged his fourth straight double-double, with 11 rebounds, after only one double-double in the first 11 games of the season. His effectiveness on the boards helped Auburn with a plus-10 advantage on the glass, including 12 offensive rebounds. The Morehead State transfer became the first Auburn player to record four straight double-doubles since Cinmeon Bowers in 2015. "Johni Broome, again, the best big on the floor," Bruce Pearl said. "Just so consistent and just gives us that inside scoring threat at the five that not a lot of teams in the league have." His fellow big men had nice nights, too. Cardwell played just 10 minutes but had two thunderous dunks and four rebounds. Senior forward Jaylin Williams had 10 of his 12 points in the second half, making all four of his shots after the break, dishing four assists and grabbing two steals, too. Auburn's frontcourt helped the Tigers notch a dominant performance around the basket, with a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint. "The combination of guys getting downhill, Johni finishing around the rim, so very, very important," Pearl said. "And again, you know, I thought we, again, the veterans, we played with some poise, and with some purpose." Rare timeout key for Auburn Pearl burned a rare timeout less than eight minutes into the game, with Auburn down 19-12. Ole Miss had come out hot, making seven of its first 12 shots, and it appeared the Tigers could be in danger of going down double digits on the road once again, similar to when it struggled offensively last week in the loss at Georgia. It proved to be a smart move, as Auburn quickly went on a 6-0 run in just 69 seconds, and proceeded to outscore Ole Miss 22-16 the rest of the half. After the timeout, Auburn's defense settled in and put the Rebels in a consistent bind for the next 20-plus minutes of game time. Jaemyn Brakefield and Murrell combined for 36 points on the night, but Ole Miss missed 20 of its next 28 shots after Pearl's timeout (28.6 percent) deep into the second half. Pearl said it was assistant coach Steven Pearl suggested before the game that a timeout be used if Ole Miss grabbed an early lead. "Having Steven said that to me pregame, it was in my mind, that if it happened, and so we did," Pearl said. "And we were very calmed out in the timeout. We talked about what we weren't doing. Bottom line is they were driving to the basket. It's like: 'Look, how can we be talking about gaps — help, help the helper, sink — and they're driving right around us, slipped around us, and they're getting to the rim. How's that possible? It's not. So you guys better get in the paint and make them kick it out.' And we started to do a better job of building a wall and not letting them drive around us." The Rebels went on a couple mini runs late in the game, hanging around in single digits with four straight makes and forcing Pearl into a timeout. Ole Miss came as close as 7 points after Tye Fagan hit a corner triple with 76 seconds left, but Green Jr. helped the Tigers close out, with 8 points in the final four minutes, including 6-of-6 free throws. Auburn ultimately shot 61 percent in the second half and scored 48 points. It now has just 28 turnovers in three SEC games, as compared to 15.4 per night in the final five games of nonconference play. "The Georgia, USC, Memphis losses: High turnovers leading to transition, so if we wanted to start winning, that was just first and foremost on our list," Pearl said. "And so the question is, where do you turn the ball over?' Johni, if we're gonna run offense through you, you can't give the ball to the other team when you get doubled, or whatever. Al, you can't — take the open shot. Don't shot fake and get closer every time and get stripped and ripped. Wendell, you've got to pick your spots when you get into the paint. And what it does is it just doesn't allow the the opponent to get easy baskets. That's it. Don't turn it over. Don't give them easy baskets. It's a pretty easy formula to win." Green Jr. works out of slow start Unsurprisingly considering he’s a veteran floor general, Green Jr.’s success is usually a key to Auburn’s offensive efficiency, in any game. Broome’s standout first half was able to offset it, but Green Jr. struggled to find his shot out of the gates, starting 1-for-7, though he did have a game-high five assists in the first half. He turned on the heater after the break, though, with a pair of 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half to help the Tigers during their strong run out of the locker room. Green Jr. finished with a season-high 22 points, now with 41 points over the past two wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss. Defensively, he now has six steals over the past two games. "Wendell Green was the best point guard on the floor," Pearl said. "Again, doesn't get enough credit. One of the best point guards in the country. Made plays on both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively." On the night, Green Jr. went a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line, and the Tigers as a team were 18-of-22. "I mean, you've got to make 'em," Green Jr. said. "It felt good to go perfect from the line tonight. I've been getting to the line a little bit more this year than I have ever in my career. Just wanted to keep attacking, keep finishing. Got to make your free throws on the road." More accountability after Georgia loss Flanigan said after Auburn lost in Athens, the team had a meeting the following day and talked about improving accountability amongst themselves, and handling criticism from their coaching staff better. The result has been back-to-back SEC wins. "I think there's been more leadership, for sure," Pearl said. "And more accountability. Here's the deal, one of the things you try to explain: I have a job to do, but this is not my team. It's their team. If we don't win I'll say it's more my team and not their team, I'll try to take the heat off of them. But I've been coaching so long, and I've had so many teams, these guys have got 2, 3, 4 years. That's it. "And when they take ownership of it, and are able to be accountable, be able to call each other on things, go to their strengths, I do — I think their communication has been better."

Takeaways from Auburn basketball’s 82-73 win vs. Ole Miss Jeremy Robuck ~3 minutes The Auburn Tigers followed up their win over Arkansas Saturday with an inspired victory away in Oxford. The first half was close throughout, but the Tigers began to pull away in the second half and really ran away with it. Here are a few takeaways from tonight’s game. Auburn is starting to look more confident as a team This season has had good moments, but there’s no denying it has been messy out there for the Tigers despite being talented and having a good record. After a big win over the Razorbacks and now a win on the road this Auburn team looks like they are getting it together. They look like a team out there. They look like they finally have confidence in what they’re doing. They look more comfortable in their roles and appear to finally have found some rhythm and chemistry. This has been a great week for Auburn basketball. Allen Flanigan is playing well Fresh off a stellar 18 point performance, Allen Flanigan suddenly looks confident as he scored an efficient 15 points. It is safe to say Flanigan looks better than he has in years lately. He’s rebounding. He’s shooting well. He’s playing hard on defense. It’s been rocky for Flanigan for so long you have to be happy for a guy to find success after what he’s been through. Wendell Green Jr. and Johni Broome look great Johni Broome is a monster out there lately. He just broke a record for consecutive double doubles. He is a man among boys out there right now. Wendell Green Jr. looks like he has his swag back. He looks confident out there. He’s aggressive, and the leadership of these two guys is setting the tone out there for the team. Feelings around the Auburn basketball program got low due to sloppy play over the last month, but it’s safe to say the Tigers have officially bounced back. This Auburn team will enjoy this win as they prepare for Mississippi State at home Saturday. It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger.

i was reading an article that basically said coach freeze uses his tight ends in a hybrid role which apparently makes the position more attractive to tight en recruits? what does this mean? he is a tight end/receiver type role? i will hang up and listen and thanx.

Auburn depth chart impact: WR Nick Mardner Familiarity with Auburn's new receivers coach has helped the Tigers add more quality depth to the room for 2023. Cincinnati transfer Nick Mardner became Auburn's first offensive skill position pickup of the cycle. He committed on Monday and rejoins his former position coach, Marcus Davis, the Auburn alum who was hired at his alma mater late last month. Mardner played for Davis at Hawaii in 2021 before transferring to Cincinnati last year. "He’s like family," Mardner said after his Auburn visit last week. "We were tied back to Hawaii in ‘21 and he was a big part of my development. I think I played my best ball with him. That’s like family." Originally from Canada, Mardner immediately settled into Hawaii's receiver rotation in 2019 and 2020 before exploding as one of the best wideouts in the Mountain West in 2021 under Davis' leadership. Fifth in the conference in receiving, Mardner had 913 yards and five touchdowns before he left Hawaii as part of a mass exodus in the program following allegations of player mistreatment against Hawaii head coach Todd Graham. This past season at Cincinnati, Mardner wasn't as productive but was still a relied-upon member of the Bearcats' passing game, with 218 yards and three scores. Just an hour after Mardner committed, USF running back Brian Battie became Auburn's ninth transfer addition. They join Purdue defensive tackle Lawrence Johnson, LSU linebacker Demario Tolan, Maryland defensive tackle Mosiah Nasil-Kite, Western Kentucky offensive tackle Gunner Britton, Tulsa offensive tackle Dillon Wade, Vanderbilt pass-rusher Elijah McAllister and FIU tight end Rivaldo Fairweather. Here's a look at what Davis currently has in his receiving corps following the addition of a fifth-year senior with nearly 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career. Seniors: Nick Mardner, Ja'Varrius Johnson Juniors: Koy Moore (RS), Malcolm Johnson Jr. (RS) Sophomores: Tar'Varish Dawson (RS), Camden Brown, Omari Kelly Freshmen: Jay Fair (RS), Daquayvious Sorey -- Way-too-early depth chart projection WR/X: Camden Brown, Nick Mardner WR/Z: Koy Moore, Malcolm Johnson Jr. WR/H: Ja'Varrius Johnson, Tar'Varish Dawson Now the lengthiest member of Auburn's receiving corps at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, Mardner should now work alongside Brown, another big-bodied target, at the outside receiver spot. Assuming Landen King moves back to tight end, Mardner represents a target in the passing game the Tigers don't have much of, and like Brown, that could help him see the field a lot in 2023. The slot receiver position, with Johnson returning and Dawson opting to pull out of the portal, may not need any added transfer depth, but Auburn could possibly stand to pick up another name at flanker, where a couple veterans in Moore and Johnson Jr. are back but neither produced much in 2022. Mardner's familiarity with Davis doesn't guarantee a role in 2023, considering the passing concepts will be significantly altered from what Hawaii ran in 2021, but the fact that Davis knows his tendencies, strengths and weaknesses is an immediate boost for Hugh Freeze, and it's one less player the new offensive staff has to deep dive in the spring. Johnson is probably the best returning player in the room, but he by no means has a stranglehold on that designation. Auburn hasn't had a true alpha receiver on the outside since Seth Williams was at his peak, and Mardner certainly will have every opportunity to make a splash as an instant-impact transfer in a deep but not overly impressive room.

Why USF transfer RB Brian Battie's dad said his son chose Hugh Freeze, Auburn football Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser 5–7 minutes AUBURN — With Tank Bigsby heading to the NFL, Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze knew he needed to add a running back that could make an immediate impact. The best way to do that was through the portal, and the Tigers landed USF transfer Brian Battie on Monday. Battie was a consensus All-American kick returner as a sophomore in 2021 and followed that up a year later by busting onto the scene with 1,186 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games with the Bulls. The 5-foot-8 Battie averaged 6.7 yards per carry and added 659 more return yards in his final year at USF. Once he entered the portal Jan. 6, it only took him three days to find his new home. RECRUITING:Auburn football adds Nick Mardner, 6-6 WR from Cincinnati, from transfer portal TRANSFER PORTAL:Auburn football adds Purdue DT Lawrence Johnson from the transfer portal "When we got the phone call, it was like ‘Whoa, Cadillac Williams. Auburn.’ He’s the one that gave the offer," Battie's dad, Tommie, told the Montgomery Advertiser on Monday. "Originally, we were contacted by an assistant coach, a guy that’s from Tampa. Ty (Holder) actually contacted us first, or contacted Brian first. And then from there it kind of took off." Tommie said they were peripherally aware of the run Williams had as the interim head coach for Auburn during the last month of the season, but were too focused on Brian's play at USF to fully pay attention. Once speaking to the former Auburn standout turned coach, though, the connection was immediate. The professional pedigree Williams has didn't hurt, either. "Brian has never had a running back that played in the league be his coach ... So that was good knowing that he would have an actual running back, a guy that played the position at a high level being his coach," Tommie said. The Battie family − Brian's parents and one of his sisters − visited Auburn on Sunday. They had a chance to check out the new Woltosz Football Performance Center and Jordan-Hare Stadium. Tommie said the whole visit was "great," and the family could really feel the "school-pride atmosphere" while walking on Pat Dye Field. But it was the people that drew them in. Aside from Williams, Tommie had a chance to talk with Freeze about how he sees Brian fitting onto the team, but mostly discussed how he'd be taken care of off the field, and what things the coaching staff planned to do to shape him as a person, as well as a football player. "I think really what it was with him, he didn’t seem like he was desperate," Tommie said of Freeze. "He didn’t seem like he was trying to sell anybody on anything. He just kind of was a straight shooter. He really didn’t talk a whole lot about football. ... That was important because as a father, you want to know that your son is going to be able to handle himself as a man once he gets out of school. ... "He talked a little bit about football, don’t get me wrong, he told us that he’s had running backs that were Brian’s size. ... So, he was excited to have a guy like Brian, somebody that can make plays in the open field. That was the biggest thing. He was more focused on the man after football than the man on the field. He didn’t seem like a car salesman." South Florida running back Brian Battie, front left, runs past Florida linebacker Amari Burney (2) for a 10-yard touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Tommie mentioned the well-known back-to-back wins Freeze had over Alabama and coach Nick Saban in 2014 and 2015: "That let us know that, hey look, this guy can really coach.” As expected, the plan is for Battie to continue returning kicks. Tommie said Williams also wants to add a pass-catching element to Brian's skill set, as he only caught 14 passes for 91 yards at USF last season. "He was just talking about how he’s going to help Brian expand his game," Tommie said. "He feels like he’s a great runner. He does a good job of being patient with the ball, but they would like to see him out on the edge a little bit more catching the ball out of the backfield. That was a plus.” The Batties were scheduled to visit Colorado and new coach Deion Sanders before committing to a new school, but after spending the day on the Plains, Tommie said he and his family knew what their choice was ultimately going to be. Auburn also begins classes Wednesday, and Battie didn't want to miss the start of the semester. "I think he pretty much knew that he wanted to go to Auburn," Tommie said. "The facilities and everything was nice, but we know there’s other programs that’ve got really nice facilities that had courted Brian or reached out to him. But the coaching staff just seemed so genuine (and) faith-based. I think that was more of the reason why we just said, ‘You know what? As much as we’d like to go check out Deion, Auburn checked all the boxes.’ So, there was really no point in missing school knowing that you really want to go to Auburn over any other school. ... "It was the coaches more so that blew us away than anything else.” Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Why transfer RB Brian Battie's dad said his son chose Auburn footbal

Auburn falls two places in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after two-game stretch River Wells ~3 minutes The Auburn Tigers defeated then-No. 13 Arkansas by a good margin on Saturday, but sometimes it’s hard to please everyone. Despite the 72-59 win over the higher-ranked Razorbacks, Auburn found itself falling yet again in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll — the Tigers dropped two spots from No. 20 to No. 22, and the Arkansas team they beat dropped three places from No. 13 to No. 16. Since Auburn’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs took place in-between polls, it’s likely that the Tigers’ loss in that game influenced their lower ranking. Bruce Pearl’s squad may have been a victim of circumstance as well, however. The Duke Blue Devils needed a place to land after barely beating Boston College on the heels of an upset loss to NC State, so they dropped seven spots to No. 21 — Meanwhile, Providence moved up 11 spots from being unranked to No. 19 after a win over No. 7 Connecticut and St. Johns. As a result, the Tigers didn’t have a lot of room to move on up after the victory, and so they found themselves dropping despite a solid performance against a higher-ranked SEC team — the team’s bad game against Georgia, though, likely held more weight in the decision to put it lower. Auburn will have another chance to move up in the polls when it takes on Ole Miss on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT. Rank Team Record Prev Chg 1 Houston 16-1 2 1 2 Kansas 14-1 3 1 3 Purdue 15-1 1 -2 4 Alabama 13-2 7 3 5 Tennessee 13-2 9 4 6 UCLA 14-2 8 2 7 Connecticut 15-2 5 -2 8 Gonzaga 14-3 10 2 9 Arizona 14-2 4 -5 10 Texas 13-2 6 -4 11 Xavier 13-3 18 7 12 Virginia 11-3 11 -1 13 Kansas State 14-1 NR 15 14 Iowa State 12-2 25 11 15 Miami-Florida 13-2 12 -3 16 Arkansas 12-3 13 -3 17 Texas Christian 13-2 17 — 18 Wisconsin 11-3 15 -3 19 Providence 14-3 NR 11 20 Missouri 13-2 21 1 21 Duke 12-4 14 -7 22 Auburn 12-3 20 -2 23 Marquette 13-4 NR 11 24 Charleston 16-1 NR 8 25 San Diego St. 12-3 NR 8 DROPPED OUT: No. 16 Baylor; No. 19 Indiana; No. 22 New Mexico; No. 23 Ohio St.; No. 24 Illinois; No. 25 Kentucky. RECEIVING VOTES: Illinois 50; Baylor 48; Clemson 45; Michigan St. 38; Ohio St. 32; Saint Mary’s 30; Indiana 29; Northwestern 15; Maryland 13; Florida Atlantic 13; Kentucky 11; North Carolina 10; Rutgers 8; New Mexico 7; Louisiana State 6; Pittsburgh 5; Iowa 5; Mississippi State 4; Texas Tech 3; Nevada 2; Texas A&M 1; Boise St. 1.