College basketball rankings: Alabama jumps to No. 1 in Top 25 And 1 after Purdue's loss to Northwestern
The Crimson Tide are the new top team in the nation after the Boilermakers' fell to the Wildcats
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Road games in hostile environments against projected NCAA Tournament teams can prove challenging even for the best of the best. Purdue was reminded of this reality for the second straight weekend on Sunday, falling 64-58 at Northwestern eight days after losing 79-74 at Indiana.
"Just got to show more poise and toughness," Purdue coach Matt Painter said following the game at Northwestern, where the Boilermakers lost despite once leading the game by double-digits.
More shooting would've also helped.
The Boilermakers took 22 3-pointers at Northwestern and missed 17 of them. That translates to 22.7%. That's not good enough.
Does Purdue still have the nation's best body of work?
Arguably, yes.
The Boilermakers are still 23-3 overall, 12-3 in the Big 12 and 9-3 in Quadrant 1 with zero additional losses. That's still super-strong. But Purdue is also just 1-2 in its past three games, and only 10-3 in its past 13, which is among the reasons I'm compelled to move Alabama to No. 1 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
As I detailed Saturday, Alabama is 22-3 overall, 12-0 in the SEC and winning its league games by an average of 21.1 points. That's nearly four points better than the margin of victory the Kentucky team with future NBA All-Stars Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded when the Wildcats went 18-0 in the SEC before losing to Wisconsin in the 2015 Final Four. In other words, Alabama is in the midst of a historically great run through its conference. Since losing to Gonzaga in December, the Crimson Tide are 13-1 and performing like the best team in the country, according to data available at BartTorvik.com.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
1
Northwestern
1
Purdue
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Rylan Griffen finished with 16 points and two blocks in Saturday's 77-69 win at Auburn. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Tennessee. | 1 | 11-4 |
| 2 |  | Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer combined to go 2 of 13 from the field in Sunday's 64-58 loss at Northwestern. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday at Maryland. | 1 | 14-1 |
| 3 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 25 points and two assists in Wednesday's 80-42 win over Tulsa. The Cougars' next game is Thursday at SMU. | -- | 14-1 |
| 4 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 18 points and five steals in Saturday's 78-55 win at Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 11-4 |
| 5 |  | Sir'Jabari Rice finished with 24 points and one assist in Saturday's 94-60 win over West Virginia. The Longhorns' next game is Monday at Texas Tech. | -- | 9-6 |
| 6 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 70-63 win at Oregon. The Bruins' next game is Thursday against Stanford. | -- | 10-5 |
| 7 |  | Adam Flagler finished with 28 points and four assists in Saturday's 72-68 win at TCU. The Bears' next game is Monday against West Virginia. | -- | 10-4 |
| 8 |  | Armaan Franklin finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 69-62 win over Duke. The Cavaliers' next game is Wednesday at Louisville. | -- | 13-2 |
| 9 |  | Arizona allowed the Cardinal to shoot 61.1% from the field in Saturday's 88-79 loss at Stanford. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Utah. | -- | 15-0 |
| 10 |  | Kansas State turned the ball over 23 times in Saturday's 71-63 loss at Texas Tech. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at Oklahoma. | -- | 9-6 |
| 11 |  | Julian Strawther finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 88-81 win over BYU. The Zags' next game is Thursday at Loyola Marymount. | -- | 16-1 |
| 12 |  | Kam Jones finished with 14 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 89-75 win at Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against Xavier. | -- | 6-10 |
| 13 |  | Souley Boum missed 10 of the 14 shots he attempted in Friday's 69-67 loss at Butler. The Musketeers' next game is Wednesday at Marquette. | -- | 9-7 |
| 14 |  | Gabe Kalscheur missed 10 of the 12 shots he attempted in Saturday's 64-56 loss vs. Oklahoma State. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against TCU. | -- | 15-0 |
| 15 |  | Tennessee allowed Missouri to shoot 52.6% from the field in Saturday's 86-85 loss to the Tigers. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | -- | 11-4 |
| 16 |  | Logan Johnson finished with 34 points and six assists in Saturday's 81-64 win at Portland. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at San Diego. | -- | 15-2 |
| 17 |  | Adam Seiko finished with 18 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 82-71 win over UNLV. The Aztecs' next game is Wednesday at Fresno State. | -- | 10-4 |
| 18 |  | Alijah Martin finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 90-85 overtime win over Louisiana Tech. The Owls' next game is Thursday at Middle Tennessee. | -- | 10-6 |
| 19 |  | Nijel Pack finished with 22 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 93-85 win over Louisville. The Hurricanes' next game is Monday at North Carolina. | -- | 13-2 |
| 20 |  | Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 62-61 win at Michigan. The Hoosiers' next game is Wednesday at Northwestern. | -- | 12-3 |
| 21 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 17 points and one steal in Saturday's 56-53 win over UConn. The Bluejays' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | -- | 10-6 |
| 22 |  | Adama Sanogo missed 10 of the 17 shots he attempted in Saturday's 56-53 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Seton Hall. | -- | 15-1 |
| 23 |  | Jarkel Joiner finished with 26 points and six assists in Saturday's 92-62 win at Boston College. The Wolfpack's next game is Tuesday at Syracuse. | -- | 11-5 |
| 24 |  | Kobe Brown finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 86-85 win at Tennessee. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday at Auburn. | -- | 12-3 |
| 25 |  | Will Baker finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Friday's 77-66 win over Fresno State. The Wolf Pack's next game is Saturday at Utah State. | -- | 11-4 |
| 26 |  | Boo Buie finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 64-58 win over Purdue. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Indiana. | NR | 8-6 |
