NCAA Basketball top 25 rankings: Gonzaga, Providence rise, Alabama falls
By Joey Loose
12. Alabama (9-2)
After recent big wins over Gonzaga and Houston, the Crimson Tide had a bit of an off week this past week, though still seem to be one of the best teams in the SEC. If that stunning loss to Iona was confusing, then a big 92-78 loss at Memphis is also a bit confusing, especially with how the Tigers had been playing in recent weeks. After some early struggles, the Crimson Tide rebounded on Saturday, knocking off Jacksonville State 65-59, with a 20-point, 10-rebound effort from Keon Ellis leading the way.
The Crimson Tide’s offense was elite in those big wins, but took a step back in their two efforts this week. What’s more of an issue is that the interior defense is vulnerable, and will certainly need to play better in conference play, especially against teams with talented bigs like Auburn. Ahead, the Crimson Tide have an intriguing game with Davidson, though a more interesting matchup with Colorado State was cancelled due to COVID issues. Soon, SEC play will begin and we’ll see if this is the best program in the SEC; they certainly have two of the league’s best nonconference wins.
11. USC (12-0)
Three more games meant three more wins for unbeaten USC this week, who have now come away with twelve straight wins to start the season. While they haven’t exactly played a gauntlet of opponents, they’ve taken care of teams like San Diego State and Washington State, winning both of those games away from home. This week, those results included a 73-62 win over Long Beach State, a 66-61 win against UC Irvine, and Saturday’s 67-53 decision against Georgia Tech in Phoenix.
Isaiah Mobley has been impressive and the Trojans look fantastic, even without brother Evan this season. Again, they aren’t exactly upending the most impressive slate of opponents, but the defense has held strong and wins are wins. Ahead, USC has a tough game with Oklahoma State on Tuesday, while Pac-12 play begins a couple weeks from now. We’re going to learn a lot about how real this Trojans team is in the coming weeks, but they certainly proved they for real last season with that Elite Eight run.