Where Alabama Basketball Lands in Week 18's AP Poll
After the Alabama men's basketball team split Week 17's games with a win over then-No. 24 Florida and a loss to then-No. 17 Kentucky, it slid from No. 13 to No. 14 in the AP Poll. A similar scenario occurred this past week as the Crimson Tide defeated Ole Miss 103-88 on Feb. 28 but fell to then-No. 4 Tennessee 81-74 in Coleman Coliseum.
The Volunteers' victory officially gave them the regular season sweep over Alabama. In the first matchup on Jan. 20, Tennessee held the Tide to a season-low 71 points and this past Saturday was Alabama's second-worst offensive performance of the year. The second consecutive weekly split and lack of scoring production in the losing game lowered Alabama's ranking once again as it sits at the No. 16 spot in Week 18's AP Poll.
This week is the Crimson Tide's final one of the regular season as it'll play now-unranked Florida on Tuesday and Arkansas on Saturday. Alabama has had several down-to-the-wire games this year, but Feb. 21's 98-93 overtime triumph over the Gators was arguably the Tide's most thrilling contest.
Similar to Alabama, the 20-9 (10-6 SEC) Gators split their games for the past two weeks. Florida's loss to then-No. 18 South Carolina this past Saturday bumped them outside of the AP Poll top 25. This victory for the Gamecocks moved them up to a tying position with Alabama for No. 2 in the SEC standings (the Crimson Tide owns the tiebreaker).
In other words, Alabama and Florida have different goals ahead of tomorrow night's game. The Tide want sole ownership of second place in the SEC also with hopes of Tennessee losing out as the Vols haven't clinched the conference yet, while the Gators are aiming to return to the prestigious top 25 before the SEC Tournament begins.
Florida will host now-No. 16 Alabama on Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
AP Poll Top 25
- Houston, 26-3
- UConn, 26-3
- Purdue, 26-3
- Tennessee, 23-6
- Arizona, 23-6
- Iowa State, 23-6
- North Carolina, 23-6
- Marquette, 22-7
- Duke, 23-6
- Creighton, 22-8
- Baylor, 21-8
- Illinois, 22-7
- Auburn, 22-7
- Kansas, 21-8
- Kentucky, 21-8
- Alabama, 20-9
- South Carolina, 24-5
- Washington State, 23-7
- Gonzaga, 24-6
- BYU, 21-8
- San Diego State, 22-7
- Utah State, 24-5
- Saint Mary's, 24-7
- South Florida, 22-5
- Dayton, 22-6
Other receiving votes: Nevada 42, Florida 39, Boise St. 26, Texas 10, Texas Tech 10, Indiana St 9, Appalachian St 6, New Mexico 5, FAU 4, James Madison 4, Princeton 3, Michigan St. 2, Villanova 2, Colorado St. 2, McNeese St. 2, Richmond 1.
