JAHVON QUINERLY

Purdue has picked up a series of high-profile victories to move into the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for the second straight season.

1 the AP Top 25 for the second straight season. Purdue moved up three spots in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll released on Monday, receiving 27 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. Purdue (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten) has made a steady climb after being unranked in the preseason, moving up to No. 25 Miami beat Cornell and North Carolina State to get ranked for the first time since 2017-18. CONFERENCE WATCHThe Southeastern and Big Ten conferences led the way with six ranked teams each.

Purdue has climbed to No. 1 in men's basketball AP Top 25 for the second straight season.

Purdue picked up wins over West Virginia, No. 15 Gonzaga and No. 12 Duke in consecutive weeks to win the Phil Knight Legacy tournament earlier in the season. Wins over Hofstra and Nebraska last week, combined with a loss by Houston, were enough to move the Boilermakers to No. 1 the AP Top 25 for the second straight season. Purdue moved up three spots in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll released on Monday, receiving 27 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel.

Houston and Texas remain firmly entrenched atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.

Alabama basketball held voluntary shootarounds before NCAA Tournament loss to Notre Dame, and most did not show up.

NCAA Notre Dame Alabama Basketball Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan (5) reacts next to Alabama forward Darius Miles (2) during the second half of a first-round NCAA college basketball tournament game, Friday, March 18, 2022, in San Diego. Notre Dame won 78-64. Notre Dame will play Texas Tech Sunday in the second round of the West Region. Alabama scored six straight points early in the second half to get within 44-42 before Notre Dame pulled away with a 17-5 run. Neither team led by more than four points the first 18 minutes before Notre Dame scored nine straight points to grab a 41-33 advantage with 40 seconds left in the first half.

Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 29 points and 11th-seeded Notre Dame recovered from a grueling First Four win and late-night flight to beat sixth-seeded Alabama 78-64 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Wendell Green Jr. scored a season-high 23 points off the bench as No. 1 Auburn cruised past rival Alabama with a 100-81 home win.

Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and had nine rebounds as Alabama toppled No. 4 Baylor 87-78 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Luka Brajkovic scored 22 points and made a late 3-pointer and Michael Jones scored 21 points to help lift Davidson to a 79-78 victory over No. 10 Alabama.

Alabama Gonzaga Basketball Alabama's JD Davison (3) tries to drive past Gonzaga's Julian Strawther (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Seattle. 16 Alabama held off Gonzaga’s big second-half rally for a 91-82 win over the third-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday night. Alabama led by 16 at halftime and withstood every charge the Bulldogs made in the second half to hand Gonzaga its second loss in three games. Gonzaga trailed by as many as 18 at the beginning of the second half, but pulled within 76-72. “Played much better defense the second half, played with way better energy, spirit and got us back into it," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Jaden Shackelford scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison both hit key 3-pointers later, and No. 16 Alabama held off Gonzaga’s big second-half rally for a 91-82 win over the third-ranked Bulldogs.

Nelly Joseph and Walter Clayton Jr. made key free throws in the final seconds to lift Iona over No. 10 Alabama 72-68 in an opening-round game at the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday night.

Instead, they scored the first five points of the extra session, then cruised from there to an 88-78 victory that gave the No. 11 seed Bruins their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008 — and Cronin the first of his 18-year coaching career. Singleton was fouled and made two free throws for UCLA, pushing the lead to 65-62 with 4 seconds to go. Alabama led the nation in 3-pointers attempted and made this season, so it was fitting that a 3 would send the game to overtime. UCLA has beaten Michigan in three of their four NCAA Tournament games, including the 1965 national championship in Portland, Oregon.

This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much. Ad“I thought their kids came ready to play,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. Iona forced 14 turnovers, and Alabama had trouble getting an open look for most of the first 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough weapons to beat Alabama.”Iona also got dominated 42-26 in rebounds, a stat Pitino said surprised him. Alabama is in the tournament with its best seeding in history, on the strength of its first SEC Tournament title in 30 years.

Alabama players celebrate after beating LSU in the championship game of the NCAA college basketball Southeastern Conference Tournament Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 80-79. 6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79 Sunday. Alabama, the reigning national champions in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky's 31. Alabama did it by adding two more SEC titles in basketball after Nick Saban's squad won both the SEC and national championships a couple months ago. About 20 minutes before tip-off, Alabama and LSU players had to be separated at midcourt.

6 Alabama rallied from a big deficit in the final 17 minutes to beat Tennessee 73-68 Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Volunteers trailed 69-68 when Davonte Gaines missed two foul shots with 25 seconds left. Yves Pons’ 3-pointer got Tennessee within 69-68 with 41.4 seconds left, but Quinerly added two free throws and Ellis two more with 3.7 seconds left to seal a tense game. Alabama: The Crimson Tide have thrived from long distance all season and weren’t about to change, even without Primo. It didn’t start well but ended better as Ellis hit a big 3 to help the Tide finish 7 of 28.

6 Alabama blew out Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in an SEC quarterfinal. Alabama followed a couple of small early runs with a 17-0 surge over nearly five minutes for an eventual 43-13 cushion just before halftime. The Tide also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall. “To get beat this badly was really, really a bitter pill,” he said. Alabama drained 3s in bunches to put this game away early and protected the ball.

– Jaden Shackleford scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and No. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi State 64-59 on Saturday night to clinch its first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship since 2002. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had plenty of good looks in the first half that just didn’t fall. The second half began much better and they were able to get close, but couldn’t get that one key basket or stop Alabama on the glass. Mississippi State visits Texas A&M on Wednesday night.

The result was familiar, if not the methodology: another Crimson Tide win. 8 Alabama came from behind to beat Vanderbilt 82-78 Saturday and move a step closer to a Southeastern Conference championship. Quinerly scored 15 points for the Tide, who made just 10 of 39 3-point attempts (25.6%). Alex Reese scored 10 points while Keon Ellis had eight points and nine rebounds, including a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left. Alabama overcame low scoring from Petty (six points) and Herb Jones (eight before fouling out).

Dru Smith and Missouri built a 22-point lead in the second half, then held off a frantic rally by the Crimson Tide for a 68-65 victory on Saturday. AdThe Crimson Tide had one last chance to tie it, but Jaden Shackelford’s contested 3-pointer at the buzzer missed. Shackelford scored 15 to lead Alabama (15-5, 10-1 SEC), whose first conference loss was almost an incredible comeback victory. Alabama is a volume 3-point shooting team, and when the Crimson Tide missed, Missouri started fast breaks with long rebounds. AdUP NEXTAlabama: The Crimson Tide travel to South Carolina on Tuesday.

The Crimson Tide (7-3, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) turned a one-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage midway through the second behind Petty’s trio of 3s and two more long-range makes by Joshua Primo. Primo and Herbert Jones finished with 11 points, and Jahvon Quinerly scored 10. Tennessee (7-1, 1-1) struggled from the field the entire game, hitting 21 of 66 shots (32%). Alabama's 31-29 lead at the break happened with the Crimson Tide shooting 39% (12 of 31), while Tennessee struggled shooting 33% (11 of 33). UP NEXTAlabama: The Crimson Tide will be home Tuesday to face Florida, which beat LSU on Saturday.