Alabama Climbs to No. 4 in AP College Basketball Poll with Win over Houston
Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly (5) drives past Houston guard Marcus Sasser (0) and forward Jarace Walker (25) on his way to score during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
Alabama has moved up four spots to No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll, after beating then-No. 1 Houston 71-65 on Saturday.
Alabama had to replace three of its top four scorers and started the season without dynamic guard Jahvon Quinerly while he recovers from knee surgery. None of it has slowed the Crimson Tide’s ride to a second top-five ranking in three seasons.
Alabama knocked North Carolina off its top-ranked perch in four overtimes on Nov. 27 and became the second team — with Oklahoma in 1990 — to beat two No. 1 teams in the same season.
“Huge program win,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “Not sure how many teams get the chance to play two No. 1 teams in nonconference, let alone beat them, but I think that shows where we’ve gotten this program to that we can play with anyone in the country at this point.”
Meanwhile, No. 19 Auburn had the biggest drop, losing eight spots following an 82-73 loss to Memphis.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, and total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking.
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Purdue (27) | 10-0 | 1508 | 4 |
| 2. Virginia (19) | 8-0 | 1476 | 3 |
| 3. UConn (15) | 11-0 | 1466 | 5 |
| 4. Alabama | 8-1 | 1326 | 8 |
| 5. Houston | 9-1 | 1224 | 1 |
| 6. Tennessee (1) | 9-1 | 1189 | 7 |
| 7. Texas | 7-1 | 1173 | 2 |
| 8. Kansas | 9-1 | 1165 | 6 |
| 9. Arizona | 8-1 | 1096 | 10 |
| 10. Arkansas | 9-1 | 1029 | 9 |
| 11. Baylor | 7-2 | 881 | 12 |
| 12. Duke | 10-2 | 840 | 15 |
| 13. Kentucky | 7-2 | 688 | 16 |
| 14. Indiana | 8-2 | 622 | 14 |
| 15. Gonzaga | 7-3 | 621 | 18 |
| 16. UCLA | 8-2 | 606 | 19 |
| 17. Mississippi St. | 9-0 | 501 | 23 |
| 18. Illinois | 7-3 | 487 | 17 |
| 19. Auburn | 8-1 | 453 | 11 |
| 20. Maryland | 8-2 | 414 | 13 |
| 21. TCU | 8-1 | 270 | 24 |
| 22. Wisconsin | 8-2 | 255 | – |
| 23. Ohio St. | 7-2 | 209 | 25 |
| 24. Virginia Tech | 10-1 | 109 | – |
| 25. Miami | 10-1 | 100 | – |
Others receiving votes: Memphis 74, Coll of Charleston 64, Marquette 39, Arizona St 39, Iowa St. 39, UNLV 27, Xavier 26, Iowa 25, West Virginia 20, Saint Mary’s (Cal) 15, San Diego St. 14, Texas Tech 14, Utah 12, New Mexico 12, Creighton 11, Michigan St. 5, Utah St. 4, Kansas St 2.
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