Where Alabama lands in USAT Coaches Poll ahead of NCAA Tournament

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The Alabama Crimson Tide learned their NCAA Tournament seed and first-round opponent in March Madness on Selection Sunday.

The Crimson Tide (23-9 overall) are the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region and will face the Hofstra Price (24-10) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Tampa, Florida.

After a disappointing showing in the SEC Tournament, Alabama cost itself a shot at a higher seed. as well as a few spots in this week's new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

In the new poll, the Crimson Tide fell three spots to No. 18 after its 80-79 upset loss to Ole Miss. The Tide are ranked one spot below the Kansas Jayhawks and one spot ahead of Texas Tech.

Nate Oats' team is now the fourth highest-ranked SEC team in the top 25. SEC Tournament champion Arkansas (26-8) moved two up two spots to No. 15, and runner-up Vanderbilt (26-8) jumped six spots overall to No. 16.

The Florida Gators (26-7) remained the highest-ranked SEC team at No. 4. Duke stayed atop the poll at No. 1, followed by Arizona at No. 2 and Michigan at No. 3. All four teams were awarded No. 1 seeds in Sunday's NCAA Tournament bracket reveal.

Opening line released for Alabama vs. Hofstra in NCAA first round

Nick Tre. Smith, Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images https://t.co/d1qnFEp5t7pic.twitter.com/zZrfSjmdI4

— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) March 16, 2026

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll top 25 entering NCAA Tournament​

Rank	Team	Record	PTS	1st	Prev	Chg	Hi/Lo
1	Duke Blue Devils	32-2	770	26	1	-	1/6
2	Arizona Wildcats	32-2	744	5	2	-	1/13
3	Michigan Wolverines	31-3	718	0	3	-	1/7
4	Florida Gators	26-7	656	0	4	-	3/NR
5	Houston Cougars	28-6	653	0	5	-	2/8
6	Iowa State Cyclones	27-7	586	0	7	1	2/18
7	UConn Huskies	29-5	570	0	6	1	3/7
8	Virginia Cavaliers	29-5	531	0	11	3	8/NR
9	St. John's Red Storm	28-6	514	0	13	4	6/NR
10	Gonzaga Bulldogs	30-3	470	0	12	2	5/20
11	Michigan State Spartans	25-7	450	0	8	3	8/21
12	Illinois Fighting Illini	24-8	437	0	9	3	6/19
13	Purdue Boilermakers	27-8	416	0	18	5	1/18
14	Nebraska Cornhuskers	26-6	395	0	10	4	5/NR
15	Arkansas Razorbacks	26-8	381	0	17	2	14/23
16	Vanderbilt Commodores	26-8	316	0	22	6	8/NR
17	Kansas Jayhawks	23-10	242	0	16	1	9/NR
18	Alabama Crimson Tide	23-9	239	0	15	3	9/NR
19	Texas Tech Red Raiders	22-10	228	0	14	5	10/20
20	Wisconsin Badgers	24-10	189	0	23	3	20/NR
21	North Carolina Tar Heels	24-8	149	0	19	2	12/25
22	Saint Mary's Gaels	27-5	103	0	21	1	21/NR
23	Miami (FL) Hurricanes	25-8	76	0	25	2	23/NR
24	Louisville Cardinals	23-10	56	0	24	-	5/NR
25	Tennessee Volunteers	22-11	55	0	NR	2	13/NR

Schools Dropped Out​

No. 20 Miami (OH);

Others Receiving Votes​

Miami (OH) 36; UCLA 31; Utah State 23; BYU 14; Villanova 11; Saint Louis 7; VCU 5; South Florida 1; Santa Clara 1; Ohio State 1; Akron 1;

What Nate Oats said about Hofstra after NCAA Tournament bracket reveal

ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN, ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images https://t.co/RFmsd2Epb5pic.twitter.com/hsBeaPHKoD

— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) March 16, 2026

Alabama basketball schedule 2026​

Alabama will face Hofstra at 2:15 p.m. CT on Friday. The game will be televised on truTV.

Here's a game by game look at Alabama's 2025-26 men's basketball schedule.

• Nov. 3: vs. North Dakota (W, 91-62)
• Nov. 8: at St. John's (W, 103-96)
• Nov. 13: vs. Purdue (L, 87-80)
• Nov. 19: vs. Illinois (W, 90-86)
• Nov. 24: vs. Gonzaga (L, 95-85)
• Nov. 25: vs. UNLV (W, 115-76)
• Nov. 26: vs. Maryland (W, 105-72)
• Dec. 3: vs. Clemson (W, 90-84)
• Dec. 7: vs. UTSA (W, 97-55)
• Dec. 13: vs. Arizona (L, 96-75)
• Dec. 17: vs. South Florida (W, 104-93)
• Dec. 21: vs. Kennesaw State (W, 92-81)
• Dec. 29: vs. Yale (W, 102-78)
• Jan. 3: vs. Kentucky (W, 89-74)
• Jan. 7: at Vanderbilt (L, 96-90)
• Jan. 10: vs. Texas (L, 92-88)
• Jan. 13: at Mississippi State (W, 97-82)
• Jan. 17: at Oklahoma (W, 83-81)
• Jan. 24: vs. Tennessee (L, 79-73)
• Jan. 27: vs. Missouri (W, 90-64)
• Feb. 1: at Florida (L, 100-77)
• Feb. 4: vs. Texas A&M (W, 100-97)
• Feb. 7: at Auburn (W, 96-92)
• Feb. 11: at Ole Miss (W, 93-74)
• Feb. 14: vs. South Carolina (W, 89-75)
• Feb. 18: vs. Arkansas (W, 117-115, 2OT)
• Feb. 21: at LSU (W, 90-83)
• Feb. 25: vs. Mississippi State (W, 100-75)
• Feb. 28: at Tennessee (W, 71-69)
• March 3: at Georgia (L, 98-88)
• March 7: vs. Auburn (W, 96-84)
• March 13: vs. Ole Miss (L, 80-79)

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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama falls in Coaches Poll ahead of NCAA Tournament

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