Alabama

College basketball rankings: Purdue makes huge jump; Alabama, Duke slide

Published

1 year ago

November 17, 2024

Press Room

College basketball rankings: Purdue makes huge jump; Alabama, Duke slide

John Fanta

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

Friday brought the biggest collective night of the college basketball season with a series of early-season, non-conference matchups across the slate — and one conference notching a pair of top-10 victories: the Big Ten.

If you’re a non-conference team in the regular season, don’t even bother playing Purdue. That has been true since December 2020. The Boilermakers have put together a historic winning streak with 39 consecutive victories in the regular season against out-of-conference opponents after their 87-78 victory over an Alabama team that received six first-place votes in the AP poll last week. It’s not as if this 39-game win streak hasn’t been tested either, with nine of those wins coming over top-10 opponents.

While everybody was wondering in the preseason how Purdue would handle life without Zach Edey, coach Matt Painter said that junior Trey Kaufman-Renn was poised to have a great year. Those words became reality in Friday’s signature win with the 6-foot-9 big man delivering 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists. With how much of a constant the backcourt of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are — with Smith posting 17 points and 10 assists and Loyer totaling 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting — that third piece emerging was the question mark with Purdue, and it was answered.

For Purdue to score 87 points and also limit a potent Crimson Tide backcourt to 9-of-29 shooting from beyond the arc was impressive. On the flip side, coach Nate Oats is clearly still trying to figure things out with his Alabama team, with Mark Sears (5 for 15 from the floor) and Cliff Omoruyi (2 for 5) struggling in the defeat.

Elsewhere, Wisconsin put up an unforgettable 103-88 win over 9th-ranked Arizona on a night when the Badgers were honoring their 2014 and 2015 Final Four teams.

There’s plenty to unpack with this result. First and foremost, it shows the depth of the Big Ten and why the conference can very well get a double-digit number of NCAA Tournament bids, because when the program that was projected to finish 12th in the league in the preseason polls beats a top-10 team, it’s an eye-opening and profile-boosting win.

Missouri transfer and sixth-year senior John Tonje put up a historic performance with a career-high 41 points, two shy of the Badgers’ single-game record. Tonje drilled four of Wisconsin’s 12 triples and shot 21 for 22 from the free-throw line in a game that was heavy with whistles and had a combined 87 free throws taken. It wasn’t always pretty, but for the Badgers to score 103 points, get double-figure performances from returnees Max Klesmit and John Blackwell and finish off Arizona (in spite of the fact that it tied the game after a slow start) certainly is a needle-moving result for coach Greg Gard. He currently has an offense that sits at No. 18 in KenPom efficiency. Wisconsin is in my Top 25 because of this.

[Read more: 2024-25 college basketball preview: Ranking the top 50 players and coaches]

As for another big takeaway from the weekend, a Big East team went on the road and beat a Big Ten squad on Friday night in dramatic fashion, as top-15 Marquette went into College Park and held off Maryland, 78-74.

Golden Eagles senior star Kam Jones continues to show he’s as good as any player in the country right now, with the 6-foot-5 guard going off for 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor, marking his third performance in the first four games of at least 24 in the scoring column. At one point in the second half, Jones went on his own personal 12-2 run over the Terps, who fought back in the final two minutes and showed their potential for this season but fell just short. Jones’ classmate Stevie Mitchell continued to display why he’s the ultimate Shaka Smart player, doing the dirty work and finishing the game with Marquette’s final eight points.

With that, here’s my updated Top 25.

1. Kansas Jayhawks (4-0)

The Jayhawks started the week by grinding out a victory over Michigan State in a game that Hunter Dickinson dominated, but backcourt questions arose despite the win. That said, they’re 4-0 with wins over North Carolina and MSU, with AJ Storr breaking out for a 16-point showing in 19 minutes in a 78-57 win over Oakland on Saturday night. Is there a clear-cut top team in the nation? No, but Kansas is at the top with enough of a body of work and Dickinson, who’s as good as any offensive player in the country.

2. UConn Huskies (3-0)

The Huskies are 36-1 in their past 37 games against non-conference competition after a 90-49 win over Le Moyne on Wednesday. Preseason All-American Alex Karaban continued his strong start to the season with 17 points in the victory. UConn plays its final tune-up before the Maui Invitational when the back-to-back reigning national champions host East Texas A&M on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app).

3. Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-0)

The Zags moved to 3-0 on the season with a 113-54 win over UMass Lowell on Friday behind 21 points from Arkansas transfer Khalif Battle. They have a big road game against San Diego State at Viejas Arena on Monday night.

4. Auburn Tigers (3-0)

Johni Broome is one of the best players in America, but I don’t think he gets enough national love for just how great of a big man he is. He had 18 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in Wednesday’s 79-56 win over Kent State.

5. Houston Cougars (2-1)

Even though the Cougars fell just short to Auburn last weekend, I still love coach Kelvin Sampson’s squad enough to keep them in my top five. Seven players scored at least eight points in Wednesday’s 91-45 win over Louisiana. We get a better gauge for the Cougars when they meet Alabama at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas next week.

6. Purdue Boilermakers (4-0)

Freshman guard C.J. Cox appears to be an X-factor on the perimeter, going 7 for 10 from 3-point range in his past two games and combining for 23 points. That’s exactly the type of supplemental scoring the Boilermakers need around Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn. Purdue has its first major road test of the year at Marquette on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app).

7. Iowa State Cyclones (2-0)

The Cyclones, who return the majority of their pieces from a Sweet 16 and Big 12 Tournament championship team last year, are off to a 2-0 start after an 82-53 win over Kansas City last Monday. Senior guard Curtis Jones came off the bench and shot 7 for 11 from the floor for 20 points. We’ll get a better measuring stick for coach T.J. Otzelberger’s team when they meet Auburn in Round 1 of the Maui Invitational.

8. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1)

The Crimson Tide are far from hitting their stride offensively, shooting just over 30% from 3-point land thus far and not fully meshing yet. Give Nate Oats some time. Remember: Last year’s team was 6-5 and ended up in the Final Four. Up next: The Tide take on Illinois — a team that’s just outside my Top 25 rankings — on Wednesday. Tomislav Ivisic, who’s coming off a 20-point performance in a win over Oakland this past week, will meet Omoruyi in that clash.

9. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1)

The Tar Heels followed up an impressive performance in a loss at Kansas with a 107-55 win over American. Elliott Cadeau is a totally different player in his second season for the Tar Heels, as the UNC point guard delivered 18 points, eight assists and four steals (and just one turnover) in the victory. Having him and RJ Davis together in the backcourt makes for one scary duo for the rest of the ACC. We’ll see UNC get tested more next week at the Maui Invitational.

10. Tennessee Volunteers (3-0)

The Volunteers posted a 2-0 week with Charlotte transfer Igor Milicic posting 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 92-57 win over Montana on Wednesday. He then followed that up with a 23-point, nine-rebound outing in a 103-67 victory over Austin Peay on Sunday. It would appear coach Rick Barnes and his staff nailed it in the transfer portal once again after doing so last year with Dalton Knecht.

11. Creighton Bluejays (4-0)

12. Kentucky Wildcats (3-0)

13. Duke Blue Devils (3-1)

14. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-0)

15. Baylor Bears (2-1)

16. Xavier Musketeers (4-0)

17. Arizona Wildcats (2-1)

18. Indiana Hoosiers (3-0)

19. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0)

20. St. John’s Red Storm (4-0)

21. Florida Gators (4-0)

22. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0)

23. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1)

24. Wisconsin Badgers (4-0)

25. Texas A&M Aggies (3-1)

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

College Basketball

Big Ten

Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Source link

Alabama

Do you have a right to wear a penis costume in public? A 62-year-old Alabama woman is about to find out.

Published

4 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

Do you have a right to wear a penis costume in public? A 62-year-old Alabama woman is about to find out.

In October, millions of people took part in “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump. In one Alabama town, police arrested a woman in a lewd costume and threatened her with jail time—a clear violation of her First Amendment rights.

Unfortunately, the case is still ongoing, and this week, it’s set for trial.

“Officers were dispatched following complaints regarding traffic hazards in the area,” the Fairhope Police Department posted on Facebook at the time. “Upon arrival, an officer observed an individual in a phallic costume near the Baldwin Square Shopping Center.”

Translation: He found a woman in an inflatable penis costume, holding a sign that said “No Dick-Tator.”

“The officer approached the woman and requested that she remove the costume, which is deemed obscene in a public setting; however, she refused to comply,” the statement continued. It added that officers arrested the woman in question, identified as Jeana Renea Gamble, “an ASL interpreter who bought the penis suit at a nearby Spirit Halloween store,” Liliana Segura wrote at The Intercept. She was 61 years old at the time.

Body camera footage from the responding officer—identified in an incident report as Cpl. Andrew Babb—provides additional context. “I’m not gonna sit here and argue with you,” Babb says as he approaches Gamble. “If my kids had to come by and see this, how would you explain it to them?”

Babb’s tone is immediately confrontational, as he repeatedly demands to know “how you would explain to my children what you’re supposed to be.” When Gamble asks if “your children don’t understand what a pun is,” Babb calls for backup over his radio.

Gamble asks if she’s being detained, and when he doesn’t answer the question, she turns to walk away. Babb then grabs her costume, throws her to the ground, and flips her over while he and other officers handcuff her.

Bystanders criticize his actions, to which Babb retorts, “I told her to take it off.” In fact, he didn’t, at least not according to the footage; it’s possible he told her to remove the costume while first walking up, before he activated the audio on his recording, but otherwise, the entire interaction—from initial approach to throwing Gamble to the ground—took less than 60 seconds.

He also tells the crowd, “This is a family town”—whatever that means.

Babb took a phone call on the way to the jail, as shown on the bodycam footage. He explains he arrested someone “dressed like a friggin’ weiner,” and he says he told her, “being dressed like that is not going to be tolerated….You’re setting an example that doesn’t need to be set.”

Officers booked Gamble on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest—quite a stretch, given the video evidence.

In February, prosecutors added even more charges for disturbing the peace and giving a false name to law enforcement. When officers asked Gamble for her name, she replied, “Aunt Tifa”—an apparent pun on antifa, the shorthand used by antifascist protesters.

After being delayed twice before, Gamble’s trial is set to begin on April 15.

It’s hard not to see this as an abuse of power. Specifically, Babb took offense at Gamble’s costume, and his stated reasoning makes it clear he feels entitled to punish people for offending him or his children. But it’s not against the law to force somebody, even a police officer, to have uncomfortable conversations with his kids.

As Segura noted at The Intercept, the costume Gamble wore that so incensed Babb is sold at Halloween stores. Should he have the right to shut down Spirit Halloween, or arrest its employees, because his children might see it?

Babb would not be the first to let his tender sensibilities override his charge to enforce the law.

In 2019, an officer in Lake City, Florida, arrested Dillon Shane Webb for a sticker on his truck that declared, in bold letters, “I eat ass.” The officer said the sticker violated Florida’s obscenity law, which UCLA School of Law professor Eugene Volokh concluded at the time was “unconstitutionally overbroad and thus invalid on its face.” Indeed, just days later, prosecutors dropped the charges, concluding Webb had a valid First Amendment defense.

Unfortunately, prosecutors in Alabama have not reached the same conclusion. Hopefully, a jury will similarly conclude that Gamble did nothing wrong, but either way, it won’t undo the damage that has already been done, in which officers roughed up a senior citizen because they found her costume objectionable.

“It’s a travesty of justice that this case is even going to trial,” Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), tells Reason. “It rests on nothing more than a citizen criticizing the president using a costume anyone could buy at a Spirit Halloween store. The arresting officer didn’t hide the fact that he handcuffed Gamble because he was offended by her costume. But giving offense is not a crime. Gamble’s political expression lies squarely within the First Amendment’s protection. Fairhope officials should be correcting this constitutional violation, not doubling down on it.”

Source link

Alabama

Indiana Fever take Alabama Jessica Timmons in third round of WNBA draft

Published

16 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

Indiana Fever take Alabama Jessica Timmons in third round of WNBA draft

Tennessee Volunteers forward Alyssa Latham (33) fouls Alabama Crimson Tide guard Jessica Timmons (23)Thursday, March 5, 2026, during the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament second round game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Alabama Crimson Tide won 76-64.

(Alex Martin/Greenville News, Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Source link

Alabama

Alabama transfer guard reportedly announces commitment decision

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

Alabama transfer guard reportedly announces commitment decision

Former Alabama guard Jalil Bethea has officially committed to Pittsburgh, per Rivals’ Joe Tipton.

Bethea struggled to make a consistent impact throughout his one and only season at Alabama. The former Miami transfer averaged 3.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists this past season, as Bethea could potentially play a much larger role throughout his time at Pitt next year. Bethea averaged just eight minutes per game this season as well, as the former Crimson Tide guard will now turn his full attention towards a fresh start with the Panthers.

Bethea was ranked as the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 7 overall player from the class of 2024, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. He was listed as the No. 1 overall player out of Pennsylvania as well, as a return to his home state could undoubtedly be exactly what Bethea needs to turn his career around during the 2026-27 campaign.

Following the commitment of Bethea, Aiden Sherrell and Taylor Bol Bowen are the lone Alabama players in the portal who have yet to announce a transfer decision.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

Source link