Where Alabama ranks in USA TODAY Sports preseason men’s basketball coaches poll

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – APRIL 06: Head coach Nate Oats of the Alabama Crimson Tide meets with Mark Sears #1 in the first half against the Connecticut Huskies in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at State Farm Stadium on April 06, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The start of the 2024-25 college basketball season is just 12 days away, and the expectations for Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide have never been higher.

Wednesday saw the release of the preseason USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll. To no surprise, Alabama was ranked in the top five at No. 2. Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks took the top spot at No. 1.

The two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies were ranked No. 3 with the Houston Cougars No. 4. The Duke Blue Devils and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg rounded out the top five.

Fresh off the program’s first trip to the Final Four in school history, and led by returning players like top-scoring guard Mark Sears (a 2024-25 AP preseason All-American) and forward Grant Nelson, Alabama has a grueling nonconference slate — even by Oats’ scheduling standards.

In a stretch from mid-November through mid-December, the Crimson Tide will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the 13th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Nov. 15, followed by the Illinois Fighting Illini at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena on Nov. 20.

The Tide will then head to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival starting Nov. 26 with a game against Houston, followed by a matchup with No. 25 Rutgers a day later. Alabama will close the Players Era Festival with a matchup against unranked Notre Dame on Nov. 30.

From there, the Crimson Tide visits the 10th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill for a Sweet 16 rematch with RJ Davis and company on Dec. 4 as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. Alabama closes its stretch of Top 25 competition against the 14th-ranked Creighton Bluejays on Dec. 14 in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama opens the regular season against…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-alabama-ranks-usa-today-170348183.html

Author : Roll Tide Wire

Publish date : 2024-10-23 17:03:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.