Alabama basketball checked in at No. 10 in the latest edition of the Associated Press top 25 poll. The Crimson Tide dropped one spot after going 2-1 in the Players Era Festival tournament last week.
The Tide (6-2) also dropped in the US LBM Coaches poll, landing at No. 12 after victories over Rutgers and then-No. 6 Houston, before suffering a loss to Oregon in the championship game.
Kansas remained at No. 1 in the AP Poll, improving to 7-0, including a win over Duke last week. Alabama’s archrival Auburn jumped up to No. 2 following an impressive showing at the Maui Invitational. The Tigers defeated then-No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina and Memphis to win the championship.
Fellow SEC sides Tennessee and Kentucky climbed to No. 3 and No. 4 in the AP Poll respectively. Both the Volunteers and Wildcats are also off to 7-0 starts this season. Marquette (8-0) rounded out the top five.
Alabama will look to pick up a pair of wins with two games left in the gauntlet portion of its non-conference schedule. The Tide will first travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for a matchup with the No. 12-ranked Tar Heels on Wednesday as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. UNC (4-3) lost its last two games to Auburn and Michigan State and will look to avenge its loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
After its trip to North Carolina, Alabama will play its first game back in Coleman Coliseum since Nov. 11 when it faces No. 21 Creighton on Dec. 14. The Bluejays (5-3) also participated in the Players Era Festival, dropping games to San Deigo State and No. 20 Texas A&M and picking up a win over Notre Dame. Creighton fell out of the top 25 this week.
Alabama will face North Carolina at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday inside the Dean E. Smith Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Here are the full AP and coaches polls
AP Poll
1. Kansas
2. Auburn
3. Tennessee
4. Kentucky
5. Marquette
6. Iowa State
7. Gonzaga
8. Purdue
9. Duke
10. Alabama
11. Wisconsin
12. Oregon
13. Florida
14. Cincinnati
15. Baylor
16. Memphis
17. Houston
18. Pittsburgh
19. Illinois
20. North Carolina
21. Oklahoma
22. Texas A&M
23. Ole Miss
24. San Diego State
25. UConn
Coaches' poll
1. Kansas
2. Auburn
3. Tennessee
4. Marquette
5. Iowa State
6. Kentucky
7. Purdue
8. Gonzaga
9. Duke
10. Oregon
11. Wisconsin
12. Alabama
13. Florida
14. Cincinnati
15. Memphis
16. Baylor
17. Illinois
18. Houston
19. Pittsburgh
20. Ole Miss
21. Oklahoma
22. North Carolina
23. Michigan
24. Texas A&M
25. Michigan State