The Iron Bowl of Basketball will feature the top two teams in the country. Alabama basketball jumped up one spot to No. 2 in the latest edition of the Associated Press top 25 poll released Monday.
Auburn remained No. 1 in the country despite its narrow defeat to then-No. 6 Florida on Saturday. Alabama held on against a scrappy Arkansas team, winning 88-85 Saturday inside Bud Walton Arena.
Next Saturday's IBOB will be the 44th all-time meeting between the top two teams in the AP poll and the first matchup since Gonzaga played UCLA in 2021. It will be the first-ever such meeting between two SEC teams.
Alabama received 23 points to be ranked first behind Auburn's 34. Votes were split this week after both Auburn and No. 3 Duke dropped games Saturday. The Blue Devils fell one spot after losing to Clemson on the road. They received the same amount of points to be ranked as Florida, which received three first-place points after its win over Auburn. Tennessee rounded out the top five.
The Tide will look to stay perfect on its two-game road trip and build more momentum headed into the IBOB when it faces Texas on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT Tuesday inside the Moody Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Here are the full AP and coaches polls.
AP Poll
1. Auburn (21-2)
2. Alabama (20-3)
T-3. Florida (20-3)
T-3. Duke (20-3)
5. Tennessee (20-4)
6. Houston (19-4)
7. Purdue (19-5)
8. Texas A&M (18-5)
9. St John’s (21-3)
10. Iowa State (18-5)
11. Michigan State (19-4)
12. Texas Tech (18-5)
13. Arizona (17-6)
14. Memphis (20-4)
15. Kentucky (16-7)
16. Wisconsin (19-5)
17. Kansas (16-7)
18. Marquette (18-6)
19. Ole Miss (18-6)
20. Michigan (18-5)
19. Clemson (19-5)
21. Missouri (17-6)
22. Mississippi State (17-6)
23. Clemson (19-5)
24. Creighton (18-6)
25. Maryland (18-6)
Coaches poll
1. Alabama (20-3)
2. Auburn (21-2)
3. Florida (20-3)
4. Tennessee (20-4)
5. Duke (20-3)
6. Houston (19-4)
7. Purdue (19-5)
8. St John’s (21-3)
9. Texas A&M (18-5)
10. Iowa State (18-5)
11. Michigan State (19-4)
12. Texas Tech (18-5)
13. Arizona (17-6)
14. Memphis (20-4)
15. Wisconsin (19-5)
16. Marquette (18-6)
17. Michigan (18-5)
18. Kentucky (16-7)
19. Clemson (19-5)
20. Kansas (16-7)
21. Creighton (18-6)
22. Missouri (17-6)
23. Ole Miss (18-6)
24. UConn (16-7)
25. Maryland (18-6)
