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Where Alabama basketball, Auburn sit in latest rankings before matchup

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Alabama men’s basketball and Auburn will officially face off as the top two teams in the country this weekend.

Which team is ranked in which spot depends on the poll you count.

In the latest coaches poll rankings, the Crimson Tide moved up to No. 1 and the Tigers fell to No. 2. Alabama had been No. 3 with Auburn in the No. 1 spot heading into this past week.

Meanwhile in the AP top 25, Auburn stayed in the No. 1 spot while Alabama moved up to No. 2. Only nine points (1479 to 1470) separated the two programs.

Alabama has continued moving up the rankings in recent weeks as it strings together SEC victories. In the AP top 25 rankings a week ago, the Crimson Tide moved up to No. 3 from No. 4. Auburn was the No. 1 team in the rankings then, too.

Then, this past week, Alabama beat Arkansas on the road while the Tigers lost to then-No. 6 Florida at home. That gave both Alabama and Auburn one conference loss on the season.

Alabama (20-3, 9-1 SEC) will face Auburn (21-2, 9-1) on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN) at Coleman Coliseum. It’s the first of two regular-season matchups between these teams. The Crimson Tide will close the regular season with a matchup against Auburn on Saturday, March 8 (1 p.m., ESPN) at Neville Arena.

Both squads have road games this week prior to the big matchup. Alabama will face Texas on Tuesday (8 p.m., ESPN) in Austin. Meanwhile, Auburn will face Vanderbilt on Tuesday (6 p.m., SEC Network) in Nashville.

AP top 25 rankings: Feb. 10

  1. Auburn (34 first-place votes)
  2. Alabama (23 first-place votes)
  3. Florida (3 first-place votes)
  4. Duke
  5. Tennessee (1 first-place vote)
  6. Houston
  7. Purdue
  8. Texas A&M
  9. St. John’s
  10. Iowa State
  11. Michigan State
  12. Texas Tech
  13. Arizona
  14. Memphis
  15. Kentucky
  16. Wisconsin
  17. Kansas
  18. Marquette
  19. Ole Miss
  20. Michigan
  21. Missouri
  22. Mississippi State
  23. Clemson
  24. Creighton
  25. Maryland

Coaches poll top 25: Feb. 10

  1. Alabama (15 first-place votes)
  2. Auburn (16 first-place votes)
  3. Florida
  4. Tennessee
  5. Duke
  6. Houston
  7. Purdue
  8. St. John’s
  9. Texas A&M
  10. Iowa State
  11. Michigan State
  12. Texas Tech
  13. Arizona
  14. Memphis
  15. Wisconsin
  16. Marquette
  17. Michigan
  18. Kentucky
  19. Clemson
  20. Kansas
  21. Creighton
  22. Missouri
  23. Ole Miss
  24. UConn
  25. Maryland

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.