Alabama basketball moves up for third-straight week in AP, Coaches Polls

The Alabama men’s basketball team has now moved up for a third-straight week in the latest AP and Coaches Polls, which were both released on Monday. After checking in at No. 16 in each last week at this time, the Crimson Tide are now up to No. 15 despite a rough road outing against Auburn.

Granted, an impressive 17-point road win against LSU three days later certainly aided a climb rather than a fall. Well, that and the fact that so many other teams in the top 25 lost this past week. I mean, Auburn turned around after beating Alabama and dropped a 16-point loss against Florida on the road. It’s tough to play on the road, especially in the SEC.

One of the Crimson Tide’s upcoming opponents (Kentucky) continues to fall in the rankings after losing a third-straight game at home. After dropping seven spots (No. 10 to 17) in last week’s AP rankings, the Wildcats are now sitting at No. 22, which means they’ve fallen 12 spots in just the last two weeks. Being 2-4 in your last six games will do that though.

Alabama’s win against South Carolina continues to be impressive though. The Gamecocks are heading in the opposite direction as Kentucky, climbing all the way to No. 11 in the latest AP rankings. Of the Crimson Tide’s seven losses this season, five of them have come against top-20 opponents (No. 2 Purdue, No. 19 Creighton, No. 8 Arizona, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 12 Auburn). It’s been a tough schedule, but that should only benefit UA down the stretch.

Check out the latest polls below.

AP Poll

*Note: Team Name (Record) – Points (First-Place Votes)

1. UConn Huskies (22-2) – 1,509 (45)

2. Purdue Boilermakers (22-2) – 1,480 (16)

3. Houston Cougars (21-3) – 1,386

4. Marquette Golden Eagles (18-5) – 1,273

5. Arizona Wildcats (19-5) – 1,241

6. Kansas Jayhawks (19-5) – 1,227

7. North Carolina Tar Heels (19-5) – 1,216

8. Tennessee Volunteers (17-6) – 1,033

9. Duke Blue Devils (18-5) – 1,025

10. Iowa State Cyclones (18-5) – 969

11. South Carolina Gamecocks (21-3) – 921

12. Baylor Bears (17-6) – 811

13. Auburn Tigers (19-5) – 799

14. Illinois Fighting Illini (17-6) – 728

15. Alabama Crimson Tide (17-7) – 618

16. Dayton Flyers (19-4) – 425

17. Creighton Bluejays (17-7) – 410

18. St. Mary’s Gaels (20-6) – 296

19. BYU Cougars (17-6) – 294

20. Wisconsin Badgers (16-6) – 249

21. Virginia Cavaliers (19-5) – 218

22. Kentucky Wildcats (16-7) – 217

23. Indiana State Sycamores (22-3) – 209

24. Florida Atlantic Owls (18-4) – 206

25. Oklahoma Sooners (18-6) – 178

Others receiving votes

Utah St. 160, Colorado St. 145, Texas Tech 111, San Diego St. 84, Washington St 82, Clemson 57, Nevada 57, Gonzaga 50, New Mexico 27, Florida 19, Michigan St. 17, Texas A&M 16, Grand Canyon 13, Mississippi 12, TCU 10, Texas 9, Memphis 8, South Florida 7, Northwestern 2, UNC Wilmington 1

Coaches Poll

*Note: Team Name (Record) – Points (First-Place Votes)

1. UConn Huskies (22-2) – 792 (24)

2. Purdue Boilermakers (22-2) – 776 (8)

3. Houston Cougars (21-3) – 722

4. Marquette Golden Eagles (18-5) – 647

5. North Carolina Tar Heels (19-5) – 632

6. Arizona Wildcats (19-5) – 642

7. Kansas Jayhawks (19-5) – 635

8. Duke Blue Devils (18-5) – 529

9. Tennessee Volunteers (17-6) – 524

10. Iowa State Cyclones (18-5) – 510

11. South Carolina Gamecocks (21-3) – 475

12. Auburn Tigers (19-5) – 421

13. Baylor Bears (17-6) – 402

14. Illinois Fighting Illini (17-6) – 356

15. Alabama Crimson Tide (17-7) – 337

16. Creighton Bluejays (17-7) – 242

17. BYU Cougars (17-6) – 202

18. Dayton Flyers (19-4) – 195

19. St. Mary’s Gaels (20-6) – 185

20. Kentucky Wildcats (16-7) – 136

21. Wisconsin Badgers (16-6) – 117

21. Oklahoma Sooners (18-6) – 117

23. Virginia Cavaliers (19-5) – 109

24. Indiana State Sycamores (22-3) – 106

25. Colorado State Rams (19-5) – 96

Others receiving votes

Utah State 94; Texas Tech 89; Florida Atlantic 63; Clemson 38; Gonzaga 35; San Diego State 34; Nevada 27; TCU 20; Washington State 18; Grand Canyon 13; Texas A&M 9; New Mexico 8; Florida 8; Northwestern 6; South Florida 5; Wake Forest 4; VCU 4; Michigan State 4; James Madison 3; Richmond 1; App State 1

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