Alabama men’s basketball rose in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today coaches polls for the third straight week.

Following a road loss to then-No. 12 Auburn and a win at LSU, Alabama moved up one spot to No. 15. UA (17-7, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) is in a four-team race for the regular season conference title. Its contenders are the three other SEC teams ranked above the Tide in the AP: No. 8 Tennessee; No. 11 South Carolina and No. 13 Auburn.

“I was hoping we would’ve gotten a few more quality wins in the nonconference. I think we’re coming around. Our defense isn’t where it needs to be. Offensively, we’re probably as good or a little better than I thought we were gonna be. Defensively, we got to be better. But it’s, I expected to be competing for a championship, which we’re competing for the championship with seven games left,” head coach Nate Oats said ahead of a meeting at the Birmingham Tip Off Club on Monday.

No. 22 Kentucky, which Alabama will visit on Feb. 24, is two games behind the Tide in the loss column. Alabama, currently tied with South Carolina, hosts the Volunteers on March 2. The Tide is currently 3-6 in Quad 1 games, its biggest win over the Tigers soured slightly after a 99-81 drubbing in Neville Arena last Wednesday.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN’s latest NCAA Tournament predictions has Alabama as the best No. 3 seed, ahead of Iowa State, Wisconsin and Auburn. As of the latest NET rankings, Alabama will get four more Quad 1 opportunities against the Wildcats, Volunteers, Florida Gators and Ole Miss Rebels.

UA’s next game is Saturday at 11 a.m. in Coleman Coliseum against a Texas A&M team coming off an upset of Kentucky.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].