The start of the 2024-25 college basketball season is just 12 days away, and the expectations for Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide have never been higher.
Wednesday saw the release of the preseason USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll. To no surprise, Alabama was ranked in the top five at No. 2. Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks took the top spot at No. 1.
The two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies were ranked No. 3 with the Houston Cougars No. 4. The Duke Blue Devils and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg rounded out the top five.
Fresh off the program’s first trip to the Final Four in school history, and led by returning players like top-scoring guard Mark Sears (a 2024-25 AP preseason All-American) and forward Grant Nelson, Alabama has a grueling nonconference slate — even by Oats’ scheduling standards.
In a stretch from mid-November through mid-December, the Crimson Tide will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the 13th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Nov. 15, followed by the 24th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena on Nov. 20.
The Tide will then head to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival starting Nov. 26 with a game against Houston, followed by a matchup with No. 25 Rutgers a day later. Alabama will close the Players Era Festival with a matchup against unranked Notre Dame on Nov. 30.
From there, the Crimson Tide visits the 10th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill for a Sweet 16 rematch with RJ Davis and company on Dec. 4 as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. Alabama closes its stretch of Top 25 competition against the 14th-ranked Creighton Bluejays on Dec. 14 in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama opens the regular season against UNC Asheville at Coleman Coliseum on Monday, Nov. 4. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
2024-25 Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
| Rank | School | Last Year’s Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 23-11 | 743 (15) |
| 2 | Alabama | 25-12 | 718 (6) |
| 3 | Connecticut | 37-3 | 717 (6) |
| 4 | Houston | 32-5 | 698 (4) |
| 5 | Duke | 27-9 | 625 |
| 6 | Iowa State | 29-8 | 591 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 27-8 | 575 |
| 8 | Baylor | 24-11 | 545 |
| 9 | Arizona | 27-9 | 510 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 29-8 | 498 |
| 11 | Auburn | 27-8 | 465 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 27-9 | 437 |
| 13 | Purdue | 34-5 | 390 |
| 14 | Creighton | 25-10 | 342 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 21-15 | 332 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 16-17 | 272 |
| 17 | Marquette | 27-10 | 268 |
| 18 | Indiana | 19-14 | 208 |
| 19 | Texas | 21-13 | 166 |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 22-15 | 163 |
| 21 | Florida | 24-12 | 130 |
| 22 | UCLA | 16-17 | 123 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 23-10 | 95 |
| 24 | Illinois | 29-9 | 87 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 20-12 | 66 |
Dropped Out:
No. 13 North Carolina State (26-15); No. 15 Clemson (24-12); No. 18 San Diego State (26-11); No. 20 Utah State (28-7); No. 22 Saint Mary’s (26-8); No. 23 South Carolina (26-8); No. 24 Washington State (25-10); No. 25 Texas Tech (23-11)
Others Receiving Votes:
Texas Tech (23-11) 60; Rutgers (15-17) 57; St. John’s (20-13) 42; Xavier (16-18) 26; Michigan State (20-15) 25; Brigham Young (23-11) 16; Oregon (24-12) 16; Kansas State (19-15) 11; Boise State (22-11) 9; Saint Mary’s (26-8) 9; Clemson (24-12) 8; Dayton (25-8) 7; Ohio State (22-14) 7; Maryland (16-17) 4; Grand Canyon (30-5) 3; Mississippi State (21-14) 2; Princeton (24-5) 2; San Diego State (26-11) 2; Virginia (23-11) 2; Wake Forest (21-14); Wisconsin (22-14)
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2024-25 season: Tobin Anderson, Iona; Adrian Autry, Syracuse; John Becker, Vermont; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Alvin Brooks, Lamar; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Alan Huss, High Point; Donte’ Jackson, Grambling; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Niko Medved, Colorado State; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Nate Oats, Alabama; Eric Olen, UC San Diego; Matt Painter, Purdue; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Brett Tanner, Abilene Christian; Stan Waterman, Delaware State; Jeff Wulbrun, Denver.
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