Alabama hoops No. 1 in AP Top 25

Alabama is the new No. 1, rising to the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time in 20 years.

Purdue's loss to Northwestern last week caused a jumble at the top of the AP Top 25 and that helped the Crimson Tide.

Alabama received 38 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday, moving up two spots to leapfrog No. 2 Houston. The Cougars had 22 firstplace votes to remain at No. 2 and Purdue, down to No. 3, still had two first-place votes.

UCLA and Kansas rounded out the top five.

Alabama has made a name for itself as more than just a football school since coach Nate Oats arrived from Buffalo in in 2019. The Crimson Tide reached the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight two years ago and Oats pulled in one of the nation's best recruiting classes last year.

Alabama is No. 1 for the first time since spending two weeks atop the poll midway through the 2002-03 season. It also is the first school to be No. 1 in the AP football and basketball polls in the same season since Ohio State in 2010-11.

Alabama (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) beat Auburn and Florida last week, with its only loss since mid-December coming at Oklahoma in a non-conference game on Jan. 28.

“Our team is playing good basketball right now,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after a 77-69 loss to the Crimson Tide on Saturday. “We're playing well. We're just not playing well enough to beat the best team in the country.”

IN AND OUT

Florida Atlantic was the only team to move into the poll, returning at No. 25 after dropping out last week. The Owls beat Rice and Louisiana Tech last week after being ranked for the first time in school history earlier this season.

Rutgers fell out of the poll for the second time this season, dropping from No. 24 after losing to Indiana and Illinois.