Auburn basketball falls in latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll before March Madness

[ASFN Admin]

Auburn basketball did not have the outing it hoped for in the SEC Tournament.

After taking down Ole Miss on Friday, 62-57, the Tigers sustained free throw and rebounding issues in its semifinal game with Tennessee, which resulted in a 70-65 loss and eliminated them from the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers lost to Florida, 86-77, in the final on Sunday.

The loss was Auburn's third over its last four games, which has caused their stock in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll to slip. Auburn enters the NCAA Tournament at No. 4, continuing the downward trend that has taken place over the last two weeks. Duke remains No. 1, followed by Houston at No. 2 and SEC Tournament champion Florida at No. 3. St. Johns trails Auburn to round out the top five.

Seven SEC teams are a part of the final USA TODAY Coaches Poll ahead of March Madness. Tennessee and Alabama just miss the top five at No. 6 and No. 8 respectively while Texas A&M claims the No. 18 spot this week. Kentucky checks in at No. 21 with Missouri rounding out the conference's representation at No. 24.

Here is a look at the final USA TODAY Coaches Poll before NCAA Tournament action starts this week.

Rank	Team	Record	Points
1	Duke	31-3	764 (25)
2	Houston	30-4	731 (2)
3	Florida	30-4	715 (3)
4	Auburn	28-5	672 (1)
5	St. John's	30-4	643
6	Tennessee	27-7	634
7	Michigan State	27-6	568
8	Alabama	25-8	556
9	Texas Tech	25-8	498
10	Wisconsin	26-9	445
11	Louisville	27-7	426
12	Maryland	25-8	401
13	Clemson	27-6	378
14	Iowa State	24-9	361
15	Michigan	25-9	329
16	Memphis	29-5	272
17	BYU	24-9	235
18	Texas A&M	22-10	233
19	Saint Mary's	28-5	209
20	Arizona	22-12	177
21	Kentucky	22-11	164
22	Purdue	22-11	154
23	Gonzaga	25-8	93
24	Missouri	22-11	90
25	Marquette	23-10	68

This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Where is Auburn ranked in USA TODAY Coaches Poll before March Madness?

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