Alabama, Auburn remain in AP Top 25 after close losses
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The two top-ranked teams in the country visited our state over the last week with Alabama and Auburn taking both games down to the wire.
But No. 1 Houston and No. 2 Purdue would eventually leave the state with their undefeated records intact.
The losses did not hurt the Tide or Tigers too much in the ensuing polls as both teams remain ranked in Monday’s AP Top 25. Auburn did fall out of the USA Today Coaches Poll but it sits just two spots outside the top 25.
Keep reading to see where both teams landed in the rankings + what’s coming up for both teams this week.
Men’s college basketball Top 25
Purdue’s win in Tuscaloosa was enough to catapult the Boilermakers back to No. 1 in the AP poll, earning 44 of the 61 first-place votes.
Houston moved back to No. 2. UConn, Arizona and Duke were the only other teams to receive first-place votes.
Alabama came in at No. 11, still four spots higher than its preseason ranking. The Crimson Tide is now the second highest-ranked SEC team.
Auburn did not budge in the AP Poll, staying at No. 22 despite its loss to Houston. The Tigers are the last of six SEC teams ranked in the top 25. The rest of that list includes:
- No. 10 Florida
- No. 12 Kentucky
- No. 20 Tennessee
- No. 21 Arkansas
There are 10 total one-loss teams currently ranked in the AP top 25, five of them belong to the SEC.
This week in college basketball
Don’t look away now because Alabama will once again be in the national spotlight on the hardwood this week.
The Crimson Tide is traveling to Chicago for a Wednesday night game against No. 8 Illinois at 8PM on FS1. It will be the team’s third consecutive game against a team ranked in the top 10.
This is the third straight season—and fourth time in the last five seasons—Alabama has faced that kind of three-game stretch. In the previous four occurrences, the Crimson Tide never won more than one game during the three-game span.
Auburn will be back at Neville Arena this week to take on Jackson State before heading to Vegas as the tougher portion of their non-conference schedule runs through December.
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