Will Alabama Basketball Be No. 1 in the Next AP Top 25?
Who would've thought that the Alabama Crimson Tide would have been atop the polls in mid-January?
Well, it isn't yet — but the Crimson Tide (17-2, 7-0 SEC) does have a chance.
Alabama took care of business in tough circumstances this week. Following the arrest of former player Darius Miles, the Crimson Tide had two SEC road games on deck — and won both by a combined 33 points.
And Alabama also got some help.
No. 1 Houston, which the Crimson Tide beat on Dec. 10, lost to Temple (11-9) on its home floor Saturday afternoon.
No. 2 Kansas lost its second game of the week against No. 14 TCU — just four days after losing to No. 13 Kansas State on Tuesday night.
No. 3 Purdue won all three of its games last week against Michigan State, Minnesota and Maryland. But the Boilermakers struggled mightily in their most recent game against the Terrapins on Sunday afternoon (58-55). It also beat the Spartans by just one point, 64-63.
So, more than likely, it will be Purdue at the top and then Alabama. But if the voters have recency bias, there's a chance the Crimson Tide could see itself at the top of the college basketball world come Monday morning.
Alabama has only been ranked first in the AP Top 25 once, for two weeks during the 2002-03 season (Dec. 13 and 20 polls). A loss at Utah knocked it from No. 1. The Crimson Tide finished 17-12 and unranked.
See Also:
Full-Court Press: Takeaways from Alabama Basketball at Missouri
Nimari Burnett's Early Return Adds to an Already-Deep Alabama Roster
No. 4 Alabama Doesn’t Have to Rely on Brandon Miller Every Night
After Hours at a Buc-ee’s in Athens: The Refuge for an Emotionally Strained Team
