Alabama No. 1 in AP, Coaches Polls for first time in 20 years

It’s official: Alabama is the No. 1 team in the land — in basketball. The AP and Coaches Polls came out earlier today and the Crimson Tide occupy the No. 1 spot for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Nate Oats’ squad earned 38 of the 62 first-place votes in the AP Poll, which moved them past Houston. Purdue, last week’s No. 1 team, fell to third after losing to Northwestern on Sunday.

If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, the 2002-03 Alabama squad was ranked No. 1 for two weeks midway through the season. That team starred Mo Williams, Erwin Dudley, Kennedy Winston, Kenny Walker, and Antonine Pettway. Despite being ranked No. 1 at the end of December, the Crimson Tide finished the year 17-12 and 7-9 in the SEC — including a 63-46 loss to Kentucky. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Indiana. This year, they’re on track to get a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

As for your University of Kentucky Wildcats, well, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that after back-to-back losses, they are nowhere to be found in either Top 25 for the seventh straight week. That one person who voted for them in the AP Poll last week was clearly not impressed by the Cats’ performances vs. Arkansas and Georgia.

AP Top 25 – Feb. 13

Others receiving votes: Missouri 114, Northwestern 96, Illinois 84, Pittsburgh 82, Nevada 36, Oklahoma St. 23, Texas A&M 16, Oral Roberts 9, Iowa 5, Arkansas 4, Rutgers 2, Maryland 1, Coll of Charleston 1, Boise St. 1.