Alabama basketball has come in at No. 2 in the poll for the USA TODAY Sports Preseason Coaches Poll.
The preseason coaches poll compiles the top 25 teams in the nation as decided by a board of 31 Division I coaches, and six gave first-place votes to the Crimson Tide.
With 743 points, Kansas was a heavy favorite for voters, 15 writing the Jayhawks in for No. 1. Kansas tops the poll ahead of Alabama.
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Coach Nate Oats‘ crew narrowly edged out No. 3 Connecticut for the No. 2 spot, securing it with 718 points to 717 for UConn. The final poll for the 2024 season saw Alabama finish fourth and the Huskies at No. 1.
The next highest-ranked SEC program was Auburn, coming in at No. 11 with 465 points.
Where did Alabama basketball land in USA TODAY Sports preseason Top 25?
- Kansas (23-11)
- Alabama (25-12)
- Connecticut (37-3)
- Houston (32-5)
- Duke (27-9)
- Iowa State (29-8)
- Gonzaga (27-8)
- Baylor (24-11)
- Arizona (27-9)
- North Carolina (29-8)
- Auburn (27-8)
- Tennessee (27-9)
- Purdue (34-5)
- Creighton (25-10)
- Texas A&M (21-15)
- Arkansas (16-17)
- Marquette (27-10)
- Indiana (19-14)
- Texas (21-13)
- Cincinnati (22-15)
- Florida (24-12)
- UCLA (16-17)
- Kentucky (23-10)
- Illinois (29-9)
- Mississippi (20-12)
Dropped out: No. 13 North Carolina State (26-15); No. 15 Clemson (24-12); No. 18 San Diego State (26-11); No. 20 Utah State (28-7); No. 22 Saint Mary’s (26-8); No. 23 South Carolina (26-8); No. 24 Washington State (25-10); No. 25 Texas Tech (23-11).
Others receiving votes: Texas Tech (23-11) 60; Rutgers (15-17) 57; St. John’s (20-13) 42; Xavier (16-18) 26; Michigan State (20-15) 25; Brigham Young (23-11) 16; Oregon (24-12) 16; Kansas State (19-15) 11; Boise State (22-11) 9; Saint Mary’s (26-8) 9; Clemson (24-12) 8; Dayton (25-8) 7; Ohio State (22-14) 7; Maryland (16-17) 4; Grand Canyon (30-5) 3; Mississippi State (21-14) 2; Princeton (24-5) 2; San Diego State (26-11) 2; Virginia (23-11) 2; Wake Forest 2 (21-14 ); Wisconsin (22-14) 1.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.