Alabama defeated Arkansas 85-80 on Saturday, avoiding a late comeback to win the SEC title for the sixth time in a row. With the Crimson Tide’s win, Auburn’s 90-81 loss to No. 6 Florida, and Duke’s 77-71 loss to Clemson earlier in the day, Alabama will be able to claim the top spot in the major polls when they are updated on Monday.
The Crimson Tide and Auburn are tied for first place in the SEC standings at 9-1, and their matchup is set for Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
A team-high 15 points were scored by Crimson Tide big man Grant Nelson and another 15 by Chris Youngblood. In the victory over the Razorbacks, six Alabama players scored eight points or more. In the closing seconds, Arkansas had a chance to tie the score, but Alabama decided to foul before the Razorbacks could make a play.
Changes coming to Monday’s polls
The Crimson Tide may be able to move to No. 1 on Monday if No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Duke lose on Saturday. Last week, the Tigers won all 62 first-place votes, and the Blue Devils would have had a good chance to climb to the top of the poll if Duke had easily defeated Clemson.
Auburn’s 12 Quad 1 wins give it the best resume in the nation, and the only losses Bruce Pearl’s program has suffered this season are at home against Florida and away against Duke. No. 4 Tennessee could move into the top three after defeating Oklahoma handily. The voters may still leave Nos. 1-3 unchanged.
If the Blue Devils had defeated Clemson, Duke’s case for the top spot would have been straightforward. Duke came into the weekend on a 16-game winning streak, which included victories over North Carolina, Auburn, and Louisville. The Blue Devils had been dominating ACC competition, but they had suffered losses to Kansas and Kentucky in the first month.
Alabama’s argument for the top spot right now might be more nuanced. The Crimson Tide’s record includes defeats to Ole Miss, Purdue, and Oregon. Prior to last month’s home loss to Ole Miss, Alabama had won eight straight games and was 3-0 at the beginning of SEC play.
The winner of Alabama vs. Auburn next weekend will probably be ranked first later this month, regardless of how the most recent poll turns out at the top. Before starting a run of seven straight games against ranked opponents to end the regular season, Alabama takes on Texas on Tuesday.
Alabama moves up in Bracketology
With the victory over Arkansas, CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm moved Alabama from the third overall seed to the overall No. 2 seed, while Duke will fall to the third overall seed in his next bracket projection.
“Duke will drop a spot behind Alabama, but not off the top line entirely, due to the depth of quality of Alabama’s wins,” Palm said,