Alabama has been ranked in the top 10 of the NET for more than a month -- at one point as high as No. 4 -- thanks to, among other things, an incredibly efficient offense and lots of blowouts of bad teams.
But the résumé was lacking.
Through 18 games, the Crimson Tide had zero victories over teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll or even the top 35 at KenPom.com. They had four losses in Quadrant 1. They had two more losses in Quadrant 2. That's why CBS Sports' Jerry Palm had Alabama merely projected as a No. 5 seed for the 2024 NCAA Tournament entering this week, because the excellent computer numbers weren't backed by a body of work filled with substance.
Alabama still needed a big win -- and the Crimson Tide got it Wednesday night at home against their biggest rival. Final score: Alabama 79, Auburn 75. That registers as a Quad 1 win for the Crimson Tide, who are ranked No. 25 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Auburn is down to No. 11.
"We missed some shots that you need to make to win against a really good team on the road," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. "I don't know that many teams are going to come in here and win in our league."
It could be none.
Alabama has spent the past month going from a 6-5 team to 13-6 team thanks to a 7-1 record in the past eight games, with the lone loss in that stretch coming at Tennessee. The Crimson Tide are launching lots of threes and making 38.8% of them. It's why they're forever dangerous against anyone and now one of five SEC schools in the Top 25 And 1; the other four are No. 4 Tennessee, No. 11 Auburn, No. 19 Kentucky and No. 26 South Carolina.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Lance Jones finished with 24 points and three steals in Tuesday's 99-67 win over Michigan. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday at Rutgers. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Tristen Newton finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 66-65 win at Villanova. The Huskies' next game is Jan. 28 against Xavier. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | RJ Davis finished with 36 points and four rebounds in Monday's 85-64 win over Wake Forest. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Florida State. | -- | 29-8 |
| 4 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 91-71 win over Alabama. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 75-68 at BYU. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Kansas State. | -- | 32-5 |
| 6 |  | Pelle Larsson finished with 22 points and four assists in Saturday's 77-71 win over UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday at Oregon State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | Tyler Wahl finished with 16 points and four assists in Tuesday's 61-59 win at Minnesota. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Michigan State. | 1 | 22-14 |
| 8 |  | Johnny Furphy finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Monday's 74-69 win over Cincinnati. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Iowa State. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 9 |  | Da'Ron Holmes finished with 22 points and eight rebounds on Tuesday's 66-54 win at La Salle. The Flyers' next game is Saturday at Richmond. | 1 | 25-8 |
| 10 |  | Baylor let the Longhorns shoot 51.9% from the field in Saturday's 75-73 loss at Texas. The Bears' next game is Saturday against TCU. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 11 |  | Aiden Holloway was 0 of 7 from the field in Wednesday's 79-75 loss at Alabama. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | 4 | 27-8 |
| 12 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 78-67 win over Kansas State. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | -- | 29-8 |
| 13 |  | Great Osobor finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 83-62 win over Fresno State. The Aggies' next game is Saturday at Boise State. | -- | 28-7 |
| 14 |  | Kyle Filipowski finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds in Tuesday's 83-69 win at Louisville. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Clemson. | -- | 27-9 |
| 15 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 22 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 86-73 win at DePaul. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Seton Hall. | -- | 27-10 |
| 16 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 27 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 85-78 win over Xavier. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 17 |  | Pop Isaacs finished with 32 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 85-78 win over BYU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Colorado State shot 26.1% from 3-point range in Wednesday's 77-64 loss at Nevada. The Rams' next game is Saturday at Wyoming. | 2 | 25-11 |
| 19 |  | D.J. Wagner was 2 of 10 from the field in Tuesday's 79-62 loss at South Carolina. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Arkansas. | -- | 23-10 |
| 20 |  | Javian McCollum was 3 of 11 from the field in Tuesday's 75-60 loss to Texas. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 20-12 |
| 21 |  | JT Toppin finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 95-75 win at San Jose State. The Lobos' next game is Sunday against Nevada. | 1 | 26-10 |
| 22 |  | Jaxson Robinson was 4 of 14 from the field in Tuesday's 75-68 loss to Houston. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Texas. | 2 | 23-11 |
| 23 |  | Lamont Butler finished with 23 points and four assists in Tuesday's 81-65 win over Wyoming. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday at Colorado State. | 3 | 26-11 |
| 24 |  | Quincy Guerrier was 4 of 12 from the field in Wednesday's 96-91 loss at Northwestern. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Indiana. | 3 | 29-9 |
| 25 |  | Mark Sears finished with 22 points and eight assists in Wednesday's 79-75 win over Auburn. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against LSU. | NR | 25-12 |
| 26 |  | Talon Cooper finished with 20 points and five assists in Tuesday's 79-62 win over Kentucky. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday against Missouri. | NR | 26-8 |
