Alabama basketball finished the 2023-24 season tied for third in the final Associated Press media poll. The Crimson Tide was deadlocked with Houston in the first AP poll ever released after the NCAA Tournament.

The finish came following a 16-spot jump for the Tide from the previous poll, released March 15. Alabama made its first Final Four in program history after starting out as a No. 4 seed in the tournament.

UConn, which beat UA in the semifinals on Saturday, was predictably No. 1 in the poll after winning the national championship Monday night. The Huskies defeated Purdue, which finished second in the AP poll, in the title game.

Tennessee was the second-highest ranked SEC team, finishing fifth. The Volunteers finished with 1,203 points in the poll, behind UA and Houston’s 1,217.

The Crimson Tide ran one spot back in the coaches top 25 poll, finishing fourth. Houston edged out Alabama in that poll, taking sole possession of third place.

Alabama’s finish in that poll equalled its mark from the 2022-23 season. The fourth-place effort came with a 14-spot jump in the rankings from the March 17 edition of the coaches poll.

Despite the loss, Alabama fans received positive news just before the title game on Monday, when head coach Nate Oats announced he will be returning to Tuscaloosa. Oats had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Kentucky job, with John Calipari reportedly heading to Arkansas.