I watch sports, think about sports and talk about sports practically every day.

More specifically, my days usually revolve around Auburn sports due to my daily occupation. Every now and then I’ll actually hear myself say something that makes a lot of sense. That is, in between all the other stuff I get wrong.

Having the benefit of experience, I know certain things are going to happen during a given season, but for some reason they can still catch me off guard. For example, I’ve been saying on a daily basis for the last several weeks how good the basketball programs are in the SEC this year.

Anybody can beat anybody on a certain night and the score could even be significantly lopsided. I knew that to be a statement of fact because it continued to happen week after week. Florida destroyed Tennessee in Gainesville by 30. Tennessee turned around and hammered the Gators by 20 in Knoxville. Vanderbilt beat Kentucky and Tennessee in Nashville, but was blown out by 30 against Oklahoma in Norman.

Those are just a few games that illustrate exactly what I’m talking about. No one is immune, not even Auburn. The Tigers are having a phenomenal season ascending to the No. 1 team in the nation. They have more impressive victories than any other team in the country by far and were undefeated in conference play.

However, that didn’t stop No. 6 Florida from waltzing into Neville Arena on Saturday and defeating Auburn 90-81. Of course, anyone who watched the game knows it wasn’t as close as that score might indicate. The Gators were up by 21 midways through the second half.

Again, I knew this was a possibility and I knew it was a probability at some point. The Jungle has become such a home-court advantage I feel like the Tigers are invulnerable on the Plains. Obviously, that is not the case, but it doesn’t mean anything has changed as far as Auburn’s standing or the goals they can achieve. Florida is good enough to win the national title. So are Auburn, Alabama, Duke and several others. It was merely one loss to a very good team.

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More than likely, it won’t be the last. I wasn’t shocked that Auburn lost but I was surprised by how the Gators controlled the game. They shot the ball better throughout the game and just seemed to have more energy. The Tigers responded to their first setback of the year, a road loss at Duke 78-84, by winning the next six games by an average of 31 points.

Hopefully, they’ll have the same attitude and result this time around. Things certainly aren’t going to get any easier as Auburn will face Vanderbilt in Nashville, where they have notoriously struggled, and Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Not to overlook the Commodores, but the game on Saturday in Coleman Coliseum is literally historic.

The AP voters kept the Tigers atop the rankings at No. 1 and moved Alabama into the No. 2 spot because Duke lost to Clemson on the road. This will apparently be the first time in the history of SEC basketball that two league teams meet as No. 1 and No. 2. I would have thought that matchup had already taken place in the long, storied history of the conference, but I would have assumed Kentucky was involved.

The fact that it’s Auburn and Alabama is incredible and adds a lot of hype to a game that doesn’t need any help. The Tide are actually No. 1 in the Coaches poll, so technically it’s No. 1 vs. No. 1 to see who’s the real No. 1. Well, at least for now.

Andy Graham is a co-host of Auburn Blitz and his column appears here weekly.

Andy Graham is a regular columnist for The Outlook.