Alabama basketball suffered its first loss of the 2025-26 season when top-ranked Purdue went to Coleman Coliseum and dominated the Crimson Tide off the glass. The Boilermakers had a 52-28 edge over the Tide in rebounding and won a top 10 matchup, 87-80, last Thursday in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama (2-1) kept things close by making 16 3-pointers, but the Tide were no match for Purdue’s size in the paint. The Boilermakers (4-0) dominated the Crimson Tide in points in the paint, 30-22.
Aden Holloway was the leading scorer for Nate Oats’ team, pouring in 21 points on 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Taylor Bol Bowen had 13 points, while Aiden Sherrell finished with 12 points and four rebounds. Labaron Philon, Alabama’s leading scorer this season, was held to 11 points.
Where is Alabama basketball ranked in new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll?
Alabama fell two spots after its loss to Purdue and is ranked No. 11 in the Week 3 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Crimson Tide are ranked one spot behind the No. 10 BYU Cougars, and one spot ahead of coach Mark Few’s Gonzaga Bulldogs.
The top four spots in the Coaches Poll remained the same as last week.
Alabama basketball schedule 2025
Alabama will face another top 25 opponent, the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0), in a top 15 showdown on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at United Center in Chicago. Illinois rose six spots in the Coaches Poll and is ranked No. 8 entering Week 3 of the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Tipoff for Alabama-Illinois is 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on FS1.
Illinois defeated No. 11 Texas Tech, 81-77, on Nov. 11 in Champaign after taking a 13-point lead into halftime. The Illini followed up the victory with an 84-65 win over Colgate on Friday.
Alabama and Illinois met last year on Nov. 20 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, a 100-87 Crimson Tide victory when Alabama was ranked No. 8 and the Illini were No. 25.
USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll Top 25 rankings
The full Week 3 top 25 rankings in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll are below.
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue | 4-0 | 760 | 20 | 1 | – | 1/1 |
| 2 | Houston | 4-0 | 747 | 9 | 2 | – | 2/2 |
| 3 | UConn | 4-0 | 705 | 0 | 3 | – | 3/4 |
| 4 | Duke | 4-0 | 677 | 2 | 4 | – | 4/5 |
| 5 | Arizona | 4-0 | 625 | 0 | 6 | +1 | 5/13 |
| 6 | Michigan | 3-0 | 568 | 0 | 5 | -1 | 5/7 |
| 6 | Louisville | 4-0 | 568 | 0 | 12 | +6 | 6/12 |
| 8 | Illinois | 4-0 | 504 | 0 | 14 | +6 | 8/14 |
| 9 | Florida | 3-1 | 494 | 0 | 10 | +1 | 3/10 |
| 10 | BYU | 3-1 | 440 | 0 | 7 | -3 | 7/10 |
| 11 | Alabama | 2-1 | 404 | 0 | 9 | -2 | 9/16 |
| 12 | Gonzaga | 4-0 | 402 | 0 | 19 | +7 | 12/20 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 3-1 | 391 | 0 | 8 | -5 | 8/13 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 3-0 | 368 | 0 | 16 | +2 | 14/18 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 3-1 | 353 | 0 | 11 | -4 | 11/15 |
| 16 | St. John’s | 2-1 | 349 | 0 | 13 | -3 | 6/16 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 3-0 | 304 | 0 | 18 | +1 | 17/18 |
| 18 | Michigan State | 3-0 | 303 | 0 | 17 | -1 | 17/21 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 4-0 | 233 | 0 | 20 | +1 | 19/25 |
| 20 | UCLA | 3-1 | 173 | 0 | 15 | -5 | 12/20 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 3-0 | 139 | 0 | 22 | +1 | 21/24 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 3-1 | 115 | 0 | 21 | -1 | 15/22 |
| 23 | Kansas | 3-1 | 86 | 0 | 24 | +1 | 19/24 |
| 24 | Vanderbilt | 4-0 | 64 | 0 | NR | +2 | 24/NR |
| 25 | Indiana | 4-0 | 48 | 0 | NR | +4 | 25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Creighton; No. 25 Auburn;
Others Receiving Votes
North Carolina State 42; Auburn 37; Saint Mary’s 27; Ole Miss 22; USC 20; San Diego State 20; Oregon 19; Baylor 16; Creighton 15; Virginia 14; Missouri 7; Georgetown 6; Iowa 5; Ohio State 4; Saint Louis 1;
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama basketball learns Coaches Poll ranking after loss to Purdue
