It’s Low Ebb for Former No. 1 Alabama

Being No. 1 seems to guarantee nothing but a hangover. Just ask Florida, which became No. 1 on Monday, then was clubbed by No. 6 Kentucky, 70-55, on Tuesday.

But the undisputed king of the hangover this season has to be Alabama, which has gone 5-7 -- including five losses in its last six games -- since being voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll on Dec. 23.

On Saturday, Alabama’s troubles continued. Florida -- which will have a stay of only one week at No. 1 -- routed the No. 22 Crimson Tide, 75-56, at Gainesville, Fla.

Alabama Coach Mark Gottfried has to be reaching for the super-sized aspirin, considering the Crimson Tide, 13-7 overall and 3-6 in the Southeastern Conference, could become the first team to be ranked No. 1 during the season and not make the NCAA tournament.

Looking back on his team’s two-week stay at No. 1, Gottfried, a former UCLA assistant, now says “It was almost a half-joke.”

Gottfried is delving into history in hopes of making his team realize there’s still something to play for.

“You can take Villanova in 1985, N.C. State in 1983, UCLA in 1980,” he said, recalling three teams who overcame slumps to reach the NCAA championship game. “There are all kinds of teams that have found themselves struggling at one point and still found a way to play well.”

Florida Coach Billy Donovan is using his team’s stay at No. 1 as a learning experience.

“Tuesday morning, we woke up, we were No. 1 in the country and everyone was talking about us,” Donovan said. “By 11:30 that night, everyone was laughing at that. That was an emotional day and we needed to be able to move forward.”

The Gators (19-3, 8-1) took a step forward against the Crimson Tide, as Matt Bonner ended a scoring slump with 21 points.

“To me, the good teams are the ones who can take the setbacks and come right back,” Donovan said. “I thought our guys did that today.”

No. 3 Texas 95, Texas A&M; 87 -- T.J. Ford had 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds at College Station, Texas, as the Longhorns (15-4, 6-2 Big 12) held off the Aggies (11-8, 3-5).

No. 5 Louisville 81, Houston 55 -- Marvin Stone had 17 points as the Cardinals (18-1, 8-0 Conference USA) extended their winning streak to 17 games by defeating the Cougars (6-13, 4-4) at Houston.

No. 6 Kentucky 80, Mississippi 62 -- Erik Daniels scored 20 points and the Wildcats (18-3, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) overwhelmed the Rebels (12-8, 3-6) at Oxford, Miss., for their 12th victory in a row. Kentucky’s winning streak is its longest 1998, when it won 13 in a row.

No. 7 Oklahoma 91, Baylor 42 -- At Norman, Okla, the Sooners (16-3, 7-1 Big 12) -- winners of 34 consecutive home games -- routed the Bears (10-9, 1-7), who lost their 22nd in a row on the road.

No. 12 Kansas 82, Kansas State 64 -- At Manhattan, Kan., the Jayhawks (17-5, 7-1 Big 12) won their 26th in a row over the Wildcats (11-10, 2-6) behind Kirk Hinrich’s 28 points.

No. 13 Creighton 88, Bradley 65 -- Michael Lindeman scored a career-high 21 points at Omaha, Neb., and the Bluejays (21-2, 11-1 Missouri Valley) cruised past the Braves (8-14, 4-7).

Tennessee 78, No. 17 Georgia 72 -- Ron Slay had 33 points at Knoxville, Tenn., leading the Volunteers 13-6, 5-3 SEC) to their first victory over a ranked team in five tries. Georgia is 13-6 and 5-3.

No. 18 Connecticut 84, Providence 68 -- Emeka Okafor had 21 points at Providence, R.I., as the Huskies (14-5, 5-3 Big East) won for the first time in three games. Providence is 10-10 and 3-6.

No. 19 Syracuse 94, West Virginia 80 -- Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 29 points at Morgantown, W.Va., as the Orangemen (16-3, 7-2 Big East) defeated the Mountaineers (12-8, 3-5).

No. 20 Xavier 85, Dayton 77 -- David West had 47 points and 18 rebounds at Cincinnati to lead the Musketeers (17-4, 8-1 Atlantic 10) past the Flyers (16-4, 8-1).

No. 23 Mississippi State 84, Arkansas 54 -- Mario Austin had 19 points and 12 rebounds at Starkville, Miss., as the Bulldogs (15-5, 5-4 SEC) scored their most lopsided victory over the Razorbacks (7-12, 2-6) since 1952.

Minnesota 90, No. 24 Purdue 68 -- Rick Rickert scored 26 points and Michael Bauer added 17 at Minneapolis to lead the Golden Gophers (13-7, 5-4 Big Ten) past the Boilermakers (15-5, 7-2).

OTHER GAMES

Paul Davis scored six of his game-high 21 points in overtime at Bloomington, Ind., as Michigan State (13-8, 4-5 Big Ten) handed Indiana (13-8, 5-4) its fifth loss in a row, the longest losing streak for the Hoosiers since Bob Knight’s first season as coach in 1971-72.... Bernard Robinson scored 21 points at Ann Arbor, Mich., as Michigan (14-8, 7-2 Big Ten) moved into a first-place tie with Purdue in the conference with a 70-62 victory over Iowa (12-7, 4-4).... Kirk Penney had 23 points at Evanston, Ill., as Wisconsin (16-5, 6-3 Big Ten) routed Northwestern, 74-59. The Wildcats fell to 9-11 and 1-8.... Colorado (14-7, 4-4 Big 12) jumped to a 16-0 lead and cruised to an 84-69 victory over Iowa State (12-7, 2-6) at Boulder, Colo.... Kent Williams scored on a lay-up with 1.4 seconds left to lift Southern Illinois (16-4, 11-1 Missouri Valley) to a 76-75 victory over Southwest Missouri State (13-7, 9-2) at Springfield, Mo....

Florida State (11-9, 2-7 Atlantic Coast) continued to struggle on the road, falling to North Carolina, 61-60, at Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels (12-10, 3-6) ended a losing streak at five.... Nathan Watson’s three-point basket gave Auburn (17-5, 6-3 SEC) a 56-54 victory over Louisiana State (13-8, 2-7) at Auburn, Ala. ... Luis Flores scored 24 points at New York and Manhattan (19-3, 12-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) extended its winning streak to 15 games -- the second-longest in Division I to Louisville’s 17 -- with a 79-65 victory over Canisius (8-14, 4-9).... St. Joseph’s (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic 10) handed Fordham (2-19, 1-9) its ninth consecutive defeat with an 82-64 victory at New York....Villanova (13-8, 6-2 Big East) scored the final six points in overtime for a 72-67 victory over Miami (9-10, 2-6) at Coral Gables, Fla.... Bryant Matthews scored 22 points as Virginia Tech (10-11, 3-5 Big East) stunned St. John’s, 71-54, at New York. The Redmen fell to 11-8 and 4-5.... Rutgers (10-10, 2-6 Big East) was a 75-72 winner over Boston College (11-9, 4-5) at Piscataway, N.J.

Britton Johnsen had 15 points at Fort Collins, Colo., as Utah (17-4, 5-1 Mountain West) held on for a 71-66 victory over Colorado State (14-3, 3-3). It was the 300th victory at Utah for Coach Rick Majerus.... Mark Bigelow scored 23 points at Laramie, Wyo., as Brigham Young (16-5, 5-1 Mountain West Conference) handed Wyoming (16-5, 4-2) its first loss at home.... Roy Morris 20 points to lead San Diego (12-9, 6-2 West Coast Conference) to a 78-66 victory at Santa Clara (11-10, 2-6).... Jason Gaines’ basket with 2.9 seconds at Moraga, Calif., left lifted San Francisco (10-11, 5-3 WCC) past St. Mary’s, 68-67. The Gaels fell to 11-10 and 4-4.... Fresno State (17-4, 10-2 WAC) defeated Boise State, 59-52, at Boise, Idaho.

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Changes at the Top

*--* Wit h Flo rid a los ing Tue sda y, the re wil l be a cha nge at No. 1 for the fif th tim e in eig ht wee ks whe n the nex t Ass oci ate d Pre ss’ top 25 ran kin gs are rel eas ed Mon day : Tim Team Weeks No. 1 Why Team Fell From No. 1 e at No. 1 Nov ARIZONA 6 Lost at Louisiana State, 66-65, on Dec. 21 . 11- Dec . 22 Dec ALABAMA 2 Lost at Utah, 51-49, on Dec. 30 . 23- Jan . 5 Jan DUKE 2 Lost at Maryland, 87-72, on Jan. 18 . 6-1 9 Jan ARIZONA 2 Lost to Stanford, 82-77 on Jan. 30 20- Feb . 2 Feb FLORIDA 1 Lost at Kentucky, 70-55 on Tuesday . 3-9

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