Alabama is No. 1 in Monday morning's final update of the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings for this season. Nate Oats' program vaulted to the top spot after defeating Texas A&M in Sunday's championship game of the SEC Tournament while Houston lost to Memphis in Sunday's championship game of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Crimson Tide are also the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. So, for better or worse, Brandon Miller is now the face of college basketball's postseason as Alabama tries to win its first national championship under undeniably awkward circumstances.
Why awkward?
Because Miller, Alabama's best player and a projected top-five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, allegedly drove a gun to a scene where it was, very shortly after his arrival, used to kill a 23-year-old mother less than two months ago. Regardless, Miller has never been publicly disciplined by the program or school, where driving around Tuscaloosa after 1 a.m. with a loaded gun in your car and delivering it to a teammate who just texted you that he needed it because he was in some sort of altercation is apparently no violation of any team policy or rule. That's what Alabama officials have said, at least.
So the Crimson Tide's season has marched on with no meaningful interruption, even though a dude who played 13 minutes against Memphis in December (Darius Miles) is now facing a capital murder charge, and even though his most high-profile teammate (Miller) is literally the only reason the gun that killed the mother of a 5-year-old boy was there that night to be used to kill the mother of a 5-year-old boy.
It really is incredible.
That said, there's no getting around the fact that in spite of these rather big distractions and issues, Alabama's basketball team is ... awesome. The Crimson Tide were the outright SEC champions and SEC Tournament champions. They deserve to be No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, it'll be fascinating to watch them try to advance in the bracket accordingly while every press conference is filled with reporters asking questions about the shooting death of a young woman near campus in January
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Alabama won the outright SEC title before also winning the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 31-6 |
| 2 |  | Purdue won the outright Big Ten title before also winning the Big Ten Tournament. The Boilermakers are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 29-6 |
| 3 |  | Kansas won the outright Big 12 title before losing in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 28-8 |
| 4 |  | Houston won the outright AAC title beore losing in the championship game of the AAC Tournament. The Cougars are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 3 | 33-4 |
| 5 |  | Texas finished second in the Big 12 standings before winning the Big 12 Tournament. The Longhorns are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 29-9 |
| 6 |  | Marquette won the outright Big East title before also winning the Big East Tournament. The Golden Eagles are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 29-7 |
| 7 |  | Arizona finished tied for second in the Pac-12 standings before winning the Pac-12 Tournament. The Wildcats are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 28-7 |
| 8 |  | UCLA won the outright Pac-12 title before losing in the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament. The Bruins are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 31-6 |
| 9 |  | Gonzaga won a share of the West Coast Conference title before also winning the WCC Tournament. The Zags are a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 31-6 |
| 10 |  | UConn finished tied for fourth in the Big East standings before losing in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. The Huskies are a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 31-8 |
| 11 |  | Kansas State finished tied for third in the Big 12 standings before losing in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Wildcats are a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 26-10 |
| 12 |  | Baylor finished tied for third in the Big 12 standings before losing in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Bears are a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 23-11 |
| 13 |  | San Diego State won the Mountain West title before also winning the Mountain West Tournament. The Aztecs are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 32-7 |
| 14 |  | Duke finished tied for third in the ACC standings before winning the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 15 |  | Xavier finished second in the Big East standings before losing in the championship game of the Big East Tournament. The Musketeers are a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 27-10 |
| 16 |  | Miami won a share of the ACC title before losing in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Hurricanes are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 17 |  | Virginia won a share of the ACC title before losing in the championship game of the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers are a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 25-8 |
| 18 |  | Texas A&M finished second in the SEC standings before losing in the championship game of the SEC Tournament. The Aggies are a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 4 | 25-10 |
| 19 |  | Indiana finished tied for second in the Big Ten standings before losing in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 23-12 |
| 20 |  | Missouri finished tied for fourth in the SEC standings before losing in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Tigers are a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 25-10 |
| 21 |  | TCU finished tied for fifth in the Big 12 standings before losing in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Horned Frogs are a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 22-13 |
| 22 |  | Florida Atlantic won the outright Conference USA title before also winning the C-USA Tournament. The Owls are a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 35-4 |
| 23 |  | Saint Mary's won a share of the West Coast Conference title before losing in the championship game of the WCC Tournament. The Gaels are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 27-8 |
| 24 |  | Tennessee finished tied for fourth in the SEC standings before losing in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The Vols are a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 25-11 |
| 25 |  | Memphis finished second in the American Athletic Conference standings before winning the AAC Tournament. The Tigers are a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | NR | 26-9 |
| 26 |  | Creighton finished third in the Big East standings before losing in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. The Bluejays are a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 24-13 |
