Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats knew what he was doing when he put together one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the nation ahead of the 2024-25 college basketball season. Oats’ team has since slipped a bit in the rankings after entering the year as preseason No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports’ Coaches Poll.
While Alabama (6-2) reeled off two impressive wins last week in the inaugural Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, defeating the Houston Cougars 85-80 in overtime and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 95-90, the Crimson Tide lost the finale of the Players Era Festival Saturday night with an 83-81 loss to Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks.
As a result, Alabama fell three spots to No. 12 in the new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, released Monday.
Oregon, previously unranked, jumped 27 spots and moved all the way to No. 10 in the Coaches Poll after beating Alabama, San Diego State and the Texas A&M Aggies to win the Players Era Festival.
The Wisconsin Badgers (8-0) also jumped past Mark Sears and the Crimson Tide, landing at No. 11 after wins over the Pitt Panthers and UCF Knights to win the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia.
The Purdue Boilermakers (7-1), who defeated Alabama 87-78 at Mackey Arena on Nov. 15, moved back into the top 10 at No. 7 after winning the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego with an 80-78 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels.
Alabama is ranked one spot behind the No. 11 Badgers and one spot ahead of the No. 13 Florida Gators in this week’s poll.
Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks (7-0) remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week after entering 2024 as preseason No. 1 in the Coaches Poll. Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers (7-0), the Tennessee Volunteers (7-0) and Marquette Golden Eagles (8-0) were big risers in this week’s poll.
Auburn moved up one spot to No. 2 after dominant wins over the North Carolina Tar Heels and Memphis Tigers to win the Maui Invitational in Hawaii. Tennessee rose three spots to No. 3, with Marquette jumping seven spots to land at No. 4.
The Iowa State Cyclones (5-1) rounded out the top five.
Alabama basketball 2024 schedule
Next up for the Crimson Tide is a trip to Chapel Hill to face No. 22 North Carolina in the SEC/ACC Challenge. Tipoff for Alabama vs. North Carolina is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT Wednesday at the Dean Smith Center. The game will be televised on ESPN.
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor currently gives North Carolina a 57.7 percent chance of beating Alabama. The two teams met in the Sweet 16 last March, an 89-87 Alabama win over the No. 1 seed Tar Heels.
Full USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 7-0 | 760 (19) |
| 2 | Auburn | 7-0 | 755 (12) |
| 3 | Tennessee | 7-0 | 694 |
| 4 | Marquette | 8-0 | 646 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 5-1 | 629 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 7-0 | 628 |
| 7 | Purdue | 7-1 | 535 |
| 8 | Gonzaga | 7-1 | 517 |
| 9 | Duke | 5-2 | 472 |
| 10 | Oregon | 8-0 | 457 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 8-0 | 450 |
| 12 | Alabama | 6-2 | 441 |
| 13 | Florida | 8-0 | 427 |
| 14 | Cincinnati | 6-0 | 376 |
| 15 | Memphis | 6-1 | 265 |
| 16 | Baylor | 5-2 | 262 |
| 17 | Illinois | 6-1 | 234 |
| 18 | Houston | 4-3 | 221 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | 7-1 | 213 |
| 20 | Ole Miss | 6-1 | 139 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 7-0 | 111 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 4-3 | 96 |
| 23 | Michigan | 6-1 | 90 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 6-2 | 86 |
| 25 | Michigan State | 6-2 | 73 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 2 UConn; No. 15 Indiana; No. 19 Creighton; No. 21 Arkansas; No. 22 Xavier; No. 23 Arizona
Others Receiving Votes
UConn 63; San Diego State 56; Texas 54; Mississippi State 39; Arizona State 39; Drake 34; Texas Tech 32; Arkansas 28; UCLA 17; Xavier 16; BYU 16; Ohio State 15; Utah State 13; Saint Mary’s 12; Dayton 10; St. John’s 8; Nebraska 8; Indiana 8; Creighton 8; West Virginia 5; Maryland 5; Clemson 5; Georgia 3; Arizona 2; UC Irvine 1; Nevada 1