Alabama Basketball Just Outside of AP Top 25
Alabama showed both its ceiling and floor as a team this past week with a win over No. 4 Baylor on Saturday and a loss to 5-14 Georgia on Tuesday. That loss to the Bulldogs is like what kept the Crimson Tide right on the edge of re-entering the AP to-25 for the first time since week 10.
The Crimson Tide received 97 total points in the week 13 AP Poll which would put them at 26th if the rankings continued that far. Alabama's next two opponents, are both ranked in the top five with the Auburn Tigers keeping hold of the No. 1 spot and Kentucky moving up to No. 5 after a dominating 80-62 win on the road against Kansas. Tennessee and LSU are also in the top-25 for the SEC.
Alabama has wins over No. 2, 6, 8, 22 and 25 in this week's poll and could potentially pick up two more top-five wins this week against the Tigers and Wildcats.
Coach Nate Oats met with the media Tuesday morning to preview the Auburn game before the polls were released and talked about the grueling stretch his team is about to face.
"I'd be interested to see what Kentucky's going to be ranked after their week," Oats said. "They go into Kansas and handle Kansas, I wouldn't doubt that they're in the top five. We may end up playing three straight top-five teams, depending on how the rankings come out which is an unbelievable stretch for us. The good thing is, we got the first one. So now we've just got to take them one at a time."
AP Top 25 - Week 13
(Ranking, team, record, conference, points, first-place votes)
1. Auburn (20-1) Southeastern 1,508 (49)
2. Gonzaga (17-2) West Coast 1,475 (12)
3. UCLA (16-2) Pacific 12 1,338
4. Purdue (18-3) Big Ten 1,282
5. Kentucky (17-4) Southeastern 1,195
6. Houston (18-2) American Athletic 1,164
7. Arizona (17-2) Pacific 12 1,159
8. Baylor (18-3) Big 12 1,141
9. Duke (17-3) Atlantic Coast 1,107
10. Kansas (17-3) Big 12 1,014
11. Wisconsin (17-3) Big Ten 938
12. Villanova (16-5) Big East 807
13. Michigan State (16-4) Big Ten 751
14. Texas Tech (16-5) Big 12 741
15. Providence (18-2) Big East 709
16. Ohio State (13-5) Big Ten 548
17. Connecticut (15-4) Big East 483
18. Illinois (15-5) Big Ten 445
19. USC (18-3) Pacific 12 337
20. Iowa State (16-5) Big 12 324
21. Xavier (15-5) Big East 255
22. Tennessee (14-6) Southeastern 234
23. Texas (16-5) Big 12 203
24. Marquette (15-7) Big East 188
25. LSU (16-5) Southeastern 180
Others receiving votes:
Alabama 97, Murray State 42, Saint Mary's 32, Boise State 32, Miami (FL) 29, Indiana 22, Davidson 10, Arkansas 7, Iowa 6, Iona 6, TCU 4, Notre Dame 4, Loyola Chicago 4, Colorado State 3, Toledo 1
