Auburn is right back at the rock-bottom mark it hit last season before it went on a tear to finish second place in the SEC West, and, unlike the year before, it had to win a game to reach its current 2-5 conference record.

Still, the Tigers’ outlook heading into today’s game at Arkansas is much rosier than it was one year ago, and their remaining nine games appear far less daunting.

That’s because the SEC West’s run at claiming to be the conference’s better division lasted all of one year. Kentucky and Tennessee have turned things around quite nicely, and Vanderbilt has emerged as a top-tier team, while the Western teams have failed to produce any locks for the NCAA Tournament thus far.

In fact, a win today against first-place Arkansas, combined with a Mississippi State loss at Florida, would put the Tigers just one game out of first place in the West. Contrast that to the East, where Auburn would be four games out of first place and two games behind fifth-place South Carolina.

“There is still a lot of basketball to be played,” coach Jeff Lebo said. “We have played Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. A lot of teams haven’t yet. I don’t see a whole lot of difference in the West here night in and night out.”

The Arkansas team Auburn faces today certainly looks a lot different than it did one month ago, largely because coach John Pelphrey has a full roster at his disposal.

Point guard Courtney Fortson missed the Razorbacks’ first 14 games of the season because of a suspension. Fortson was suspended to start the season after making crass comments on his Twitter page two days before three other Razorbacks were suspended indefinitely in light of rape accusations.

The Washington County (Ark.) special prosecutor appointed to review the case said Friday that no charges would be filed, which clears the three players, all of whom have returned to the court, of any future punishment.

Really, though, Fortson has been the difference-maker.

He single-handedly beat Mississippi State last week when he scored 33 of his 35 points in the second half to spark the Razorbacks’ comeback victory. That was the first of the three consecutive wins Arkansas carries into today’s game, making it, by default, the hottest team in the conference.

Fortson is averaging 19.8 points and six assists per game since his return.

“Courtney Fortson has kind of been a poor man’s Devan Downey in the second half,” Lebo said, comparing Fortson to the South Carolina point guard who torched Auburn for 33 points in the conference opener.

“Him being added to the team the last eight games has changed the whole way they play. It has put a force scorer on the court, their leading scorer, their leading assist guy.”

The Tigers are riding a modest winning streak themselves heading into today’s game. OK, it’s only a one-gamer after last week’s 1-point victory over Alabama, but it’s served as a boost of motivation, senior forward Lucas Hargrove said, especially for Auburn’s freshman-heavy bench.

“It’s such a big win for us,” Hargrove said. “I think it re-energized us a little bit.”

The recent knowledge that turning a season around at 2-5 is certainly possible is also fresh in Auburn’s mind.

“We know exactly what happened last year and we know what we can do this year to change some ballgames around and maybe come out victorious,” Hargrove said. “We should be pretty set for the second half of the season.”

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