College basketball rankings: Alabama keeps rolling with SEC play, showdown with Kentucky up next
The Crimson Tide are 10-3 after defeating Yale and might be the best team in the SEC
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
The SEC, through eight weeks of this season, once again rates as the sport's best conference, according to KenPom.com, even though there's only one SEC school in KenPom's top 10. What that suggests is that whatever the league might lack in true national-championship contenders is offset by depth and the fact that there are zero SEC teams outside of KenPom's top 90.
No other conference checks that box.
So who will win the SEC?
We did a Dribble Handoff on the subject the week before Christmas. Six people delivered four different answers with Florida getting the most votes.
I went with Alabama.
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Regardless of whether that'll prove right or wrong, the Crimson Tide certainly looked the part during Monday night's 102-78 beatdown of Yale inside Coleman Coliseum -- and that they did it without the services of their best player, Labaron Philon, was especially impressive. The sophomore guard, who is averaging a team-high 21.9 points, missed the game with a leg injury that Alabama coach Nate Oats said he suffered in the previous contest against Kennesaw State.
"I think it's pretty likely he plays Saturday [against Kentucky] -- but I don't want to say for sure," Oats said. "It's definitely not super-serious, but he couldn't play in the game now."
Alabama is No. 15 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Michigan remains No. 1 for the 21st consecutive day. As Oats noted, next up for the Crimson Tide is Saturday's SEC opener against Kentucky. Both teams will enter on winning streaks -- Kentucky's is four games long, Alabama's is three.
The Wildcats are 21st in the Top 25 And 1.
Alabama-Kentucky will tip at noon ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds in Monday's 112-71 win over McNeese. The Wolverines' next game is Friday against USC. | -- | 14-0 |
| 2 |  | Koa Peat finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in Monday's 99-71 win over South Dakota State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Utah. | -- | 15-0 |
| 3 |  | Joshua Jefferson finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Monday's 89-61 win over Houston Christian. The Cyclones' next game is Friday against West Virginia. | -- | 15-0 |
| 4 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 72-54 win at DePaul. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday at Xavier. | -- | 15-1 |
| 5 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 33 points and 10 assists in Monday's 109-81 win over Eastern Washington. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 14-1 |
| 6 |  | Fletcher Loyer finished with 19 points and two steals in Monday's 101-60 win over Kent State. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at Wisconsin. | -- | 14-1 |
| 7 |  | Tyon Grant-Foster finished with 18 points and four blocks in Sunday's 96-56 win over Pepperdine. The Zags' next game is Tuesday at San Diego. | -- | 16-1 |
| 8 |  | Nikolas Khamenia missed five of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 82-81 loss to Texas Tech. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Georgia Tech. | -- | 14-1 |
| 9 |  | Jeremy Fears finished with 21 points and 11 assists in Monday's 114-97 win over Cornell. The Spartans' next game is Friday at Nebraska. | -- | 13-2 |
| 10 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Monday's 99-51 win over East Carolina. The Tar Heels' next game is Tuesday against Florida State. | -- | 13-2 |
| 11 |  | Flory Bidunga finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Monday's 90-61 win over Davidson. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at UCF. | -- | 11-4 |
| 12 |  | Kingston Flemings finished with 15 points and five assists in Monday's 69-60 win over Middle Tennessee. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Cincinnati. | -- | 14-1 |
| 13 |  | Braden Frager finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 78-55 win over North Dakota. The Cornhuskers' next game is Tuesday against New Hampshire. | -- | 15-0 |
| 14 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Monday's 96-53 win over New Haven. The Commodores' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 15-0 |
| 15 |  | Aden Holloway finished with 26 points and seven assists in Monday's 102-78 win over Yale. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 11-4 |
| 16 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 17 points and six assists in Monday's 103-74 win over James Madison. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | -- | 12-3 |
| 17 |  | Jack Davis finished with 15 points and one block in Monday's 90-55 win over Southern. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Penn State. | -- | 11-3 |
| 18 |  | Christian Anderson finished with 29 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 87-57 win over Winthrop. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 11-4 |
| 19 |  | Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished with 15 points and nine assists in Sunday's 94-52 win over Gardner-Webb. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against South Carolina State. | -- | 11-4 |
| 20 |  | Sananda Fru finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 94-54 win over Montana. The Cardinals' next game is Tuesday against Cal. | -- | 11-4 |
| 21 |  | Kam Williams finished with 26 points and one steal in Tuesday's 99-85 win over Bellarmine. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Alabama. | -- | 9-6 |
| 22 |  | Bennett Stirtz finished with 22 points and eight assists in Monday's 90-62 win over UMass Lowell. The Hawkeyes' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | -- | 12-3 |
| 23 |  | Thijs De Ridder finished with 27 points and eight rebounds in Monday's 95-51 win over American. The Cavaliers' next game is Wednesday at Virginia Tech. | -- | 13-2 |
| 24 |  | Dedan Thomas Jr. finished with 22 points and 12 assists in Monday's 90-62 win over Southern Miss. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | -- | 12-3 |
| 25 |  | Kevin Overton finished with 23 points and four steals in Monday's 106-65 win over Queens University. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 9-6 |
| 26 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 85-59 win over Harvard. The Red Storm's next game is Wednesday at Georgetown. | -- | 10-5 |
