No. 2 Houston Cougars leap-frogged by Alabama for AP Top 25 poll's top ranking in the nation
The Crimson Tide benefited from the previous week's No. 1, Purdue, losing. Alabama also beat the Coogs earlier in the season.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- There is a new No. 1 team in men's college hoops on Monday.
Unfortunately for UH Cougars fans, the school on top isn't spelled H-O-U-S-T-O-N.
The video above is from a previous report following Houston's win in Week 14 of the AP Top 25.
The Alabama Crimson Tide (22-3), who took down the Cougars earlier this season and won their two conference games in the last week, benefited from previous No. 1 Purdue losing for the second straight week to leapfrog UH (23-2) and take the top spot in the nation.
UH head coach Kelvin Sampson's squad could only muster 22 out of the 62 possible first-place votes to keep its No. 2 ranking through Week 15 of the season. Houston had just one game on its schedule over the last week: a 38-point blowout of American Athletic Conference basement-dweller, Tulsa.
"We played an elite basketball team tonight," Tulsa coach Eric Konkol said after the Feb. 8 game. "They're absolutely a national title contender.
Houston also earned the No. 2 ranking in the Coaches' Poll.
PREVIOUS STORY: Houston denied top spot after win at Temple, No. 1 Boilermakers' loss
There are three weeks left in the regular season before Houston and the rest of the AAC starts up conference tournament play on March 8.
Two of the remaining six games are against Memphis, which has emerged as a challenger to Houston's dominance this season.
Even if UH doesn't head into March Madness with a conference tournament title, Joe Lunardi's ESPN Bracketology feature still believes the Coogs get into the NCAA tourney as a No. 1 seed. Houston is also viewed as the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets inside NRG Stadium, with the Men's College Basketball Power Index giving the Cougars a 34.3% chance.
The Coogs also added more honors to the trophy case after the Tulsa win. Marcus Sasser earned a spot on the AAC Honor Roll for the fourth time this season after scoring 25 points, including five from the three-point line, against the Golden Hurricanes.
"Marcus plays the right way," Sampson said after the Tulsa matchup. "We give our kids freedom to make plays, but the caveat is to make the right play."
What's left for the Coogs?
- Thursday: at SMU
- Feb. 19: vs. Memphis
- Feb. 22: vs. Tulane
- Feb. 25: at East Carolina
- March 2: vs. Wichita State
- March 5: at Memphis
- March 9-12: 2023 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship, Fort Worth
ABC13 sister networks ESPN2 and ESPN are airing the SMU and Memphis matchups, respectively.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
