Top Ranked Houston Falls to #8 Alabama in College Basketball

One certainty in the world of college basketball is that no team will go undefeated—that hasn’t happened since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers ran the table to be an undefeated national champion. And that’s not a knock on anyone, there’s just a lot of talented teams in college basketball. For the same reason, it’s also hard to stay in the #1 position in the polls.

The latest example of this is Houston. The #1 ranked Cougars were 9-0 coming into their game at home against #8 Alabama. The Crimson Tide entered the game with a record of 7-1, and the #8 ranking in the country. A couple weeks back, Alabama bumped off then #1 North Carolina in four overtimes, so the Tide isn’t intimidated by lofty rankings or records.

It didn’t start out so well, however. Houston led by four at the half, and then built up a 15 point lead in the second half. But of course, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and Alabama finished well. The Tide trailed 44-29 with 17:13 left in the 2nd half, but clawed back to take a 63-62 lead with 3:05 left. Houston tied it up at 63-63, until Alabama took the lead for good with 1:23 to go, on the way to a 71-65 victory.

Alabama hosts #18 Gonzaga on December 17th, followed by a home game with Jackson State on the 20th. The Tide will open conference play on December 28th, at #23—and currently undefeated, Mississippi State.