Four teams ranked in the top five of Saturday morning’s CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 played on Saturday. Three of them lost — all on the road in what was the final year of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Home teams went 8-2 in the event to underline just how difficult it can be to win on the road in either league.
One of the top-five teams that lost was Alabama.
The Crimson Tide got smacked at Oklahoma, 93-69, so you might be wondering why Alabama remains No. 2 in Sunday morning’s updated Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Fair question. The answer is that I simply do not believe anybody other than No. 1 Purdue has a better body of work than Alabama even after that 24-point loss to the Sooners. The Crimson Tide are still 18-3 overall, including 8-0 in the SEC, with a 6-3 record in Quadrant 1 and zero losses outside of the first quadrant. Literally every school in the country besides Purdue either has fewer Quadrant-1 wins than Alabama and/or more Quad 1 losses than Alabama and/or more losses outside of the first quadrant than Alabama.
Most have all three.
Bottom line, I will keep Alabama at No. 2 in the Top 25 And 1 until at least two teams, in my opinion, have better résumés. Again, right now, nobody besides Purdue checks that box. Speaking of Purdue, the Boilermakers could probably lose to Michigan State on Sunday and still have the sport’s best résumé, which is my way of saying I’d likely keep Purdue at No. 1 in Monday morning’s Top 25 And 1 even if the Boilermakers lose to Michigan State the same way I kept Alabama at No. 2 in Sunday morning’s Top 25 And 1 even after the Crimson Tide lost to Oklahoma.
Michigan State at Purdue will tip at 12:15 p.m. ET. You can watch it on CBS.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
