It appears like Auburn’s time among the top 25 teams in college basketball might be coming to an end.

At 32 straight weeks as a ranked team, it has been a program-altering run. With Bruce Pearl as its coach, Auburn men’s basketball has established itself as one of the premier programs in the SEC and the country. The streak included Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, the glorious rise of deep-fried memes, a new name for the arena and the addition of The Jungle to the short list of best atmospheres in college basketball.

Rankings don’t mean anything in college basketball? It’s all a matter of perspective.

This current Auburn team has its limitations, but it’s a tough group that no team will want to face in the NCAA Tournament. And if Auburn remains in the AP Top 25 another week after its 46-43 loss to No.2 Tennessee on Saturday, then we’ll all know what America’s sportswriters thought about that non-call at the end of the game.

First Virginia in the Final Four and now this?

Auburn trailed by six with 30 seconds to play when Tigers guard Wendell Green Jr. drilled a three-pointer to make it 44-41. Suddenly, after looking like week-old donuts on offense for most of the game, Auburn was blinking “Fresh Hot Now” like Krispy Kreme. A steal and a tip-in by Auburn’s Johni Broome made it a one-point game after that, and so it came down to the final seconds.

Green elevated from the wing. Green was tackled by Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua. Green missed. Game over.

OK, it wasn’t exactly a tackle, but that amount of contact is definitely getting a flag in football for running into the kicker.

SEC basketball officials have tough jobs, but the league should probably reach out to Pearl and apologize for that one. The Tigers battled for 40 minutes, and it came down to Nkamhoua’s tired legs carrying into Green on the final shot of the game. It was a foul. Everyone in the building knew it.

I’m not saying Auburn lost the game because of that one controversial play, but if Tennessee is down three at home in that scenario then the correct call probably would have been made.

Are some losses better than others in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee? Absolutely, and the loss by Auburn to Tennessee was a perfect example. Playing ugly is Auburn’s game this season, and the Tigers were there at the end against the No.2-team in the country.

Let’s not ignore the obvious, though. Auburn (17-6, 7-3 in the SEC) is going to need someone to make a couple shots over the next couple weeks for this team to feel comfortable about an at-large bid going into the SEC tournament. Auburn is currently ranked No.30 in NET, and that’s great, but the schedule is about to get tough. The Tigers are at Texas A&M on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and then host Alabama on Saturday (1 p.m.) in Neville Arena’s game of the season.

Auburn is 13th in the SEC in three-point shooting percentage at 28.8 percent. That wouldn’t even be a great batting average in baseball. Against Tennessee, the Tigers were 3 of 27 from distance. The officials can’t be blamed for Auburn’s poor aim.

In defense of that non-call, once you’ve seen 43 missed three-pointers in a game then they probably all start to look the same. Tennessee was 2 of 21 from beyond the arc.

OATS KEEPING FOCUS

Alabama coach Nate Oats scored a hefty contract extension on Friday, and then his team delivered win No.20 of the season on Saturday with a 79-69 victory against LSU. In so many ways, it has been a month like no other for Alabama basketball.

Former teammate Darius Miles was charged with capital murder on Jan.15 after the shooting death in Tuscaloosa of 23-year-old Jamea Harris. Since that tragic day, Alabama has gone 5-1 and remained among the best teams in the country. The one loss was to Oklahoma, and Oats acknowledged then that the emotions of everything have been weighing on his team.

Alabama followed up the loss in Norman, Oklahoma, with a historic 101-44 victory against Vanderbilt.

The Crimson Tide has now won at least 20 games in two of Oats’ first four seasons at Alabama. Alabama won 19 games last season, and had 26 victories on the way to the Sweet 16 in 2021. Over an eight-year college career, Oats has reached the 20-win mark five times over eight seasons. He was named SEC coach of the year in 2021, and that award means a little more because it was during the pandemic. For all the disruptions the pandemic presented for coaches, those challenges don’t compare to what Alabama has faced this season.

Next up for Alabama is a Wednesday night home game against Florida (8 p.m.) before that big trip to Auburn on Saturday. (1 p.m.)

BLAZERS FINDING BALANCE

After struggling without Jordan Walker for five games, UAB delivered its best victory of the season on Thursday when it knocked off No.19 FAU 86-77 at Bartow Arena.

Walker missed time after spraining his ankle at the end of UAB’s loss to Western Kentucky on Jan.11. The Blazers went 2-3 without Walker, losing back-to-back games to Middle Tennessee State and North Texas. Credit goes to coach Andy Kennedy for using the time with Walker out of the lineup to develop guard Eric Gaines.

An at-large bid is out of the question for UAB (17-7, 8-5 in CUSA), but hopefully the injury to Walker has helped UAB find some balance going into the final month of the regular season. Gaines led UAB with 21 points against FAU, and four Blazers finished with 12 points in Saturday’s 76-72 home win against FIU.

UAB is at North Texas on Thursday (7 p.m.) and plays MTSU at home on Saturday (3 p.m.).

WHAT I’M WATCHING

Keep an eye on Samford this week. The Bulldogs (16-9, 10-2 in the SoCon) are at Mercer on Wednesday (6 p.m.) and then at home against The Citadel on Saturday (2 p.m.). Samford is currently tied with Furman atop the SoCon standings, but the Paladins hold the tie-breaker after their 91-84 overtime victory against Samford on Jan.25.

Samford ends the regular season with a home game against Furman on Feb.25 (2 p.m.). The regular-season conference crown could come down to that game.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.