Alabama basketball HC Nate Oats talks 103-96 win vs St. John’s in NYC
Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats is now 2-1 over Rick Pitino with a 103-96 win. It was Oats’ first time coaching at Madison Square Garden.
Week 1 of the men’s college basketball season provided some early fireworks and upsets.
The season tipped off with Koa Peat helping then-No. 13 Arizona upset then-No. 3 Florida, the defending national champion, in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas on opening night. Peat became the first player in over two decades to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in their collegiate debut.
Cam Boozer had an impressive debut of his own in then-No. 5 Duke’s win over Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational, as he finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. Keeping on the trend of star freshmen, Caleb Wilson helped then-No. 25 North Carolina to a signature win over Darryn Peterson and then-No. 19 Kansas, with 24 points. The Tar Heels made 18 of their first 23 shots from the field in the second half.
Two big winners from the first week were then-No. 16 Alabama and then-No. 21 Michigan State, who picked up what should be Quad 1 wins for their NCAA Tournament resumes. Thanks to 46 combined points from Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway, the Crimson Tide were able to pull away late at Madison Square Garden to beat Rick Pitino and then-No. 6 St. John’s on Saturday.
Then, in a meeting between two Hall of Fame Coaches in Tom Izzo and John Calipari, Michigan State won a thriller against then-No. 15 Arkansas in East Lansing that ended with Trevon Brazile missing a game-tying 3-pointer.
So, how will the top 25 look after Week 1 of the season? Here’s a look at the updated USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll:
Men’s college basketball rankings after Week 1
First-place votes in parentheses
- Purdue (21)
- Houston (7)
- UConn
- Duke (1)
- Michigan
- Arizona
- BYU
- Kentucky (2)
- Alabama
- Florida
- Texas Tech
- Louisville
- St. John’s
- Illinois
- UCLA
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- Tennessee
- Gonzaga
- North Carolina
- Arkansas
- Wisconsin
- Creighton
- Kansas
- Auburn
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 31; Oregon 26; Baylor 25; Indiana 24; North Carolina State 23; Virginia 14; San Diego State 10; Ole Miss 8; USC 6; Missouri 5; Georgetown 5; Clemson 5; Saint Mary’s 4; Georgia 4; Iowa 3; Ohio State 2; Texas 1; Kansas State 1.
AP Top 25
- Houston (18)
- Purdue (36)
- UConn (3)
- Duke (2)
- Arizona
- Michigan (1)
- BYU
- Alabama (1)
- Kentucky
- Florida
- Texas Tech
- Louisville
- St. John’s
- Illinois
- UCLA
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- North Carolina
- Gonzaga
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Auburn
- Creighton
- Wisconsin
- Kansas
Others receiving votes: NC State 87; San Diego State 67; Indiana 45; Oregon 43; Vanderbilt 37; Ohio State 17; Baylor 14; USC 12; Kansas State 5; Missouri 4; Ole Miss 4; Mississippi State 3; Georgia 2; Stanford 1; Oklahoma State 1; Texas 1; Georgetown 1; Utah State 1; Iowa 1; Virginia Tech 1.
