AP men’s basketball Top 25: Alabama jumps to No. 1 after Purdue falls again, this time to Northwestern

Thanks to Northwestern, it’s time for a new #1 team in college basketball.

Here’s everything you missed in week 14 of the season and the latest Associated Press survey on men’s college basketball.

Purdue, Arizona stunned as Alabama ranks first

Purdue may have held on last week, but that won’t work for two weeks in a row.

The Boilermakers, who remained in first place last week despite losing to Indiana, lost again on Sunday in a shock loss to Northwestern, which has never beaten the highest ranked team in the program’s history.

While Purdue is still in contention for the top spot in the NCAA Tournament, the Boilermakers dropped to 3rd in this week’s poll after their second loss in three games.

That moved Alabama, which beat Auburn 77-69 on Saturday, to first place for the first time in 20 years. Houston, who won five games in a row, remained in second place.

No. 4 Arizona was also stunned on Saturday night. The Wildcats were nine points behind Stanford, who had been fighting in the Pac-12 all season. Spencer Jones lost all 18 points in the second half to the Cardinal, their biggest win in over a decade. As a result, Arizona dropped four spots to 8th in this week’s poll.

Iowa State Stumbles, Big 12 Stays Open

Last week it looked like the Big 12 could be passing through Ames, Iowa.

We may have been too hasty with this.

Iowa State fell twice last week, first to unranked West Virginia and then again on Saturday after unranked Oklahoma rallied in the final minutes at the Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones, ranked 11th last week, have lost four of their last five games. Their only victory in this stretch was against Kansas.

The Cyclones are a good basketball team. As the season draws to a close, they have a slew of top-level victories to their credit and will take on No. 22 TCU and No. 12 Kansas State this week. However, after their struggle, the Cyclones dropped eight places to 19th.

But the Big 12 can still be taken by anyone. There are six teams in the conference this week, with seven teams in the final round to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Seven teams are also just three games away from first place in the Big 12 standings.

While there are still many unknowns in the conference, it’s hard to argue that the Big 12 isn’t the best conference in the sport right now.

Tennessee bad

The Tennessee struggle continued this week in perhaps the most painful way.

The Volunteers, once ranked second in the nation, lost out to Vanderbilt and Missouri this week. First, missing out on a few chances that could have secured the win, Tennessee succumbed to Vanderbilt’s Tyreen Lawrence on Wednesday for the game-winning shot.

Then on Saturday, the Volunteers missed free throws late and were called out for lane violations before Missouri’s DeAndre Golston hit the game-winning 3-pointer on cue in their Knoxville game.

Tennessee have lost three of their last four, beating only Auburn this stretch for just 46 points. Vols dropped four spots this week to 10th place.

At one point, Tennessee looked like it was not only a viable contender for a seat in the SEC, but also had a legitimate chance of success in the tournament. Now coach Rick Barnes has something to work on – and fast. On Wednesday, Tennessee will host Alabama No. 2.

Games to watch this week

Tuesday, February 14

No. 18 Creighton to No. 24 Providence | 19:00 ET

Wednesday, February 15

No. 1 in Alabama and No. 10 in Tennessee | 19:00 ET

No. 16 Xavier in No. 11 Marquette | 19:00 ET

No. 22 TCU in Iowa No. 19 | 21:00 ET

Thursday, February 16

No. 13 Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount | 23:00 ET

Saturday, February 18

#19 Iowa to #12 Kansas | 14:00 ET

No. 9 Baylor to No. 5 Kansas | 4:00 pm ET

State of Michigan in Michigan | 21:00 ET

Full AP Top 25

Full AP Top 25 poll from Monday, Feb. 13:

1. Alabama (22-3)

2. Houston (23-2)

3. Purdue (23-3)

4. UCLA (21-4)

5. Kansas (20-5)

6. Texas (20-5)

7. Virginia (19-4)

8. Arizona (22-4)

9. Baylor (19-6)

10. Tennessee (19-6)

11. Marquette (20-6)

12. Kansas State (19-6)

13. Gonzaga (21–5)

14. Indiana (18-7)

15. Miami (20-5)

16. Xavier (19–6)

17. St. Mary (22-5)

18. Creighton (17-8)

19. Iowa State (16-8)

20. Yukonn (19-7)

21. San Diego State (20-5)

22. TCU (17-8)

23. North Carolina State (20–6)

24. Providence (18-7)

25. FAA (24-2)

Others who received votes: Missouri 114, Northwest 96, Illinois 84, Pittsburgh 82, Nevada 36, ​​Oklahoma State 23, Texas A&M 16, Oral Roberts 9, Iowa 5, Arkansas 4, Rutgers 2, Charleston 1, Maryland 1, Boise State 1