Saturday's schedule is loaded with interesting games that should keep us entertained for roughly 12 straight hours. It starts with Illinois at Indiana and concludes with Gonzaga at BYU. In between, we get Kentucky at Alabama, which leads to an obvious question: Will the good Crimson Tide or the bad Crimson Tide show up?
There's really no way to know for sure.
Nobody is more all over the place than Alabama. The Crimson Tide are 14-8 with wins over the teams ranked 1st (Gonzaga), 3rd (Baylor), 6th (Houston), 13th (Tennessee) and 15th (LSU) at KenPom, and losses to the teams ranked 134th (Missouri) and 211th (Georgia) at KenPom.
What?
Teams are typically either good or bad -- but Alabama is somehow both, depending on the day. Through 22 games, the Crimson Tide have shown they're capable of beating anybody at the power-conference level and also capable of losing to anybody at the power-conference level. There's no simple way to explain it, but one factor is that Alabama takes 46.8% of its shots from 3. When the Crimson Tide make a decent percentage, good things usually happen. When the Crimson Tide miss a big percentage, losses to inferior teams are possible, in part because Alabama has (according to KenPom) gone from a team that ranked 3rd in adjusted defensive efficiency last season (with Herb Jones) to a team that ranks 76th in adjusted defensive efficiency this season (without Herb Jones).
Note: It's possible Alabama misses Herb Jones.
Either way, Alabama is No. 26 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Kentucky is No. 3. The Crimson Tide and Wildcats are scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Auburn is 12-1 in the first two quadrants and on a 18-game winning streak. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 4-0 |
| 2 |  | Gonzaga has won 11 straight games since losing to Alabama. The Zags' next game is Saturday at BYU. | -- | 3-0 |
| 3 |  | Kentucky is 6-4 in the first two quadrants with all four losses coming in Quadrant 1 games away from home. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Alabama. | -- | 3-0 |
| 4 |  | Baylor is tied for the national lead with seven Quadrant 1 wins and is 11-3 in the first two quadrants. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | -- | 3-1 |
| 5 |  | Arizona is 6-2 in the first two quadrants with the losses coming at Tennessee and at UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against USC. | -- | 2-1 |
| 6 |  | UCLA is 6-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Arizona and Villanova. The Bruins' next game is Saturday at Arizona State. | -- | 3-1 |
| 7 |  | Houston's 11-game winning streak features nine double-digit victories. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Cincinnati. | -- | 2-1 |
| 8 |  | Purdue is 8-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Villanova, Ohio State and Illinois. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Michigan. | -- | 4-0 |
| 9 |  | Kansas is 11-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Michigan State and Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Baylor. | -- | 4-0 |
| 10 |  | Michigan State is 12-2 in its past 14 games with double-digit wins over Wisconsin and Michigan. The Spartans' next game is Saturday at Rutgers. | -- | 3-1 |
| 11 |  | Texas Tech is 8-5 in the first two quadrants with all five losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | -- | 4-0 |
| 12 |  | Duke is 7-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Gonzaga and Kentucky and losses to Miami and Florida State. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at North Carolina. | -- | 3-1 |
| 13 |  | Providence's 5-1 Quadrant 1 record includes wins over Wisconsin, Texas Tech and Marquette. The Friars' next game is Sunday at Georgetown. | -- | 4-0 |
| 14 |  | Marquette is 8-1 in its past nine contests with two wins over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at UConn. | -- | 4-0 |
| 15 |  | Illinois' 8-5 record in the first two quadrants includes two losses in which Kofi Cockburn did not play. The Illini's next game is Saturday at Indiana. | -- | 3-0 |
| 16 |  | Wisconsin is just 2-2 in its past four games, but still 10-4 in the first two quadrants with wins over Purdue, Houston, Ohio State and Marquette. The Badgers' next game is Saturday against Penn State. | -- | 5-0 |
| 17 |  | Villanova is 7-6 in the first two quadrants with multiple losses to Marquette. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against UConn. | -- | 2-3 |
| 18 |  | Xavier is 9-5 in the first two quadrants with multiple losses to Villanova. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | -- | 4-0 |
| 19 |  | Ohio State is 5-5 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Buckeyes' next game is Thursday against Iowa. | -- | 2-1 |
| 20 |  | Tennessee's 7-6 record in the first two quadrants includes zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Vols' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 4-0 |
| 21 |  | Iowa State is 7-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Texas Tech, Xavier and Texas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Texas. | -- | 3-0 |
| 22 |  | Saint Mary's is 5-4 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against Loyola Marymount. | -- | 4-0 |
| 23 |  | Texas is 7-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Tennessee and TCU. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 3-1 |
| 24 |  | UConn is 5-5 in the first two quadrants and the only team with a win over Auburn. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Villanova. | -- | 3-0 |
| 25 |  | Davidson is 4-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Alabama and VCU. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at George Washington. | -- | 3-0 |
| 26 |  | Alabama's résumé includes wins over Gonzaga, Baylor and Houston and losses to Memphis, Missouri and Georgia. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 3-1 |
