Where Alabama Basketball Ranks in Polls After Beating Sam Houston, Arkansas State

Did the Crimson Tide move up in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll following the first week of the 2026-27 season?

Alabama guards Anderson Diaz set on defense in the first half of the game against Sam Houston on Nov. 3, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama entered the 2026-27 season as the No. 20 team in the AP Top 25 and was tied for No. 18 in the Coaches Poll.

The Crimson Tide beat Sam Houston at home in the season opener on Nov. 3, and then followed it up with another win at Coleman Coliseum over Arkansas State.

Following these victories, Alabama moved up to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.

AP Top 25 After Week 1

Rank	Team	Record	Points	First Place Votes
1.	Florida	2-0	1,490	53
2.	Duke	2-0	1,432	7
3.	Illinois	2-0	1,366	0
4.	UConn	2-0	1,339	0
5.	Michigan State	2-0	1,222	0
6.	Virginia	2-0	1,161	0
7.	Texas	2-0	1,092	0
8.	Houston	2-0	947	0
9.	UCLA	2-0	925	0
10.	Louisville	2-0	901	0
11.	Tennessee	1-0	887	0
12.	Arizona	1-1	814	0
13.	St. John's	2-0	760	0
14.	Gonzaga	2-0	745	0
15.	Kansas	2-0	717	0
16.	Texas Tech	2-0	480	0
17.	Miami (Florida)	1-1	451	0
18.	Alabama	2-0	429	0
19.	Arkansas	1-1	411	0
20.	Michigan	1-1	350	0
21.	USC	2-0	323	0
22.	Vanderbilt	2-0	318	0
23.	BYU	2-0	272	0
24.	Kentucky	2-0	249	0
25.	Nebraska	2-0	101	0

Others Receiving Votes: Memphis 97, Saint Louis 67, Iowa State 57, North Carolina 20, Iowa 15, Baylor 14, TCU 13, Marquette 10, Indiana 7, Nevada 5, Texas A&M 5, High Point 3, Santa Clara 2, East Texas A&M 1, Creighton 1, Utah State 1

The Crimson Tide cruised past Arkansas State 101-86 at home on Nov. 6. Things were looking a bit worrisome for Alabama in the first half, but a 14-0 run to close the opening period immediately shut down the idea of an upset, and momentum stayed in the Tide's direction throughout the second half. Amari Allen logged the fifth triple-double in program history, as he helped Alabama grab 25 offensive rebounds — the most in a game under Oats.

Alabama cruised past Sam Houston 96-74 at home in its season opener on Nov. 3. Alabama forced Sam Houston to turn the ball over 23 times, the most takeaways by UA since 2012. Oats wasn't too pleased with his team's performance in the first half, but the Tide came out of the break on a 16-2 run and never looked back. It was a balanced scoring night for the Tide with seven players scoring 8 points or more. Returning sophomore London Jemison and Boise State transfer Drew Fielder led the charge with 15 points apiece.

The Crimson Tide aims for its third win in as many games at home on Monday evening against Oakland. The Crimson Tide is set to face Greg Kampe, who has served as the Golden Grizzlies' head coach since 1984. Oakland is 0-3 to start the season after finishing last year 16-16 (12-8 Horizon).

Alabama leads the all-time series 3-0 with the first matchup occurring on Nov. 14, 2011. The Crimson Tide last faced Oakland during the 2021-22 season, winning 86-59.

Alabama Basketball's 2026-27 Season in the Polls

• Preseason: No. 20 in AP Poll, No. 28 in Coaches Poll
• After Week 1 (Sam Houston win, Arkansas State win): No. 18 in AP Poll, No. 16 in Coaches Poll

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