NCAA Basketball: Kansas rises, Duke, Kentucky, and Texas Tech fall in latest top-25 power ranking

17. Alabama Crimson Tide - 16-6 (8-1 SEC)

There was a stretch in the non-conference where the Tide had lost 5 of 7 games to become unranked. They’ve been near perfect ever since, winning 10 of the last 11 games. They had two games against bubble opponents but were able to take care of business.

The first game was on the road at Georgia, where they got off to a bad start. Alabama was down by 14 points in at halftime but thanks to a 58-point effort in the final 20 minutes, they were able to come back to win 85-76. Mark Sears had another great game with 23 points, while Grant Nelson chipped in with 20 on 8/11 shooting.

The offense looked even better this weekend against Mississippi State at home. They were up by 23 points at halftime and made sure there was no comeback attempt at their expense, going on to win 99-67. Sears had another 21-point effort, while Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate each had 14 points off the bench.

Alabama now finds itself in first place in the SEC standings, ahead of teams like Tennessee and Auburn. They’ll have to defend its place with a pair of road games, including a rematch with rival Auburn in a couple of days. After that is a battle with LSU, a team that has been playing well as of late.