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Auburn Basketball climbs to No. 16 in AP Poll after Arkansas beatdown

Coach Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers have ascended from No. 25 to No. 16 in the AP Poll after a 83-51 road beatdown against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon.

The loss for Arkansas marked their largest ever loss at Bud Walton, while Auburn kicked conference play off to a fantastic start, now 12-2 on the season with losses to Baylor (No. 12) and Appalachian State on the road.

Auburn’s junior college transfer Chad Baker-Mazara has become one of the Tigers’ top performers, and his SEC debut was impressive with 14 points in the first half.

RELATED: Bruce Pearl lands big-time recruit for Auburn’s 2024 class

Next, Auburn will take on Texas A&M, with plenty at stake, as Auburn has lost eight of the last ten matchups against the Aggies, extending all the way back to the 2015-16 season.

Texas A&M, expected to contend for a conference title under Buzz Williams this season after a second place finish last year, is off to a rough 9-5 start. The Aggies are coming off a 15-point home loss to LSU over the weekend in a matchup where the A&M was favored by 12 points.

With college football season coming to a close, college basketball season is just beginning to heat up.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP

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