NCAA

Traditional college football heavyweights Alabama and Oklahoma square off Saturday night in the first regular-season matchup since 2003 between teams that have combined for 25 national titles. The teams have met just once each on the other’s home field, with the Sooners winning that '03 meeting 20-13 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Grant Nelson scored 23 points and Aden Holloway had 18 to lead No. 8 Alabama to a 100-87 win over No. 25 Illinois in a matchup of Elite Eight teams from last season. Nelson opened the game with three straight 3-pointers. Will Riley led Illinois with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Kansas strengthened its grip on No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The rest of the top 10 turned into a jumble of teams swapping places. The Jayhawks picked up five first-place votes in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, receiving 49 from a 61-person media panel. No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 4 Auburn all received votes. The shuffling started with No. 8 Alabama’s loss to No. 6 Purdue, a game that dropped the Crimson Tide six spots and bumped the Boilermakers up seven. Losses by Duke and Arizona shook up the top 10.

The annual Alabama-LSU rivalry is Exhibit A this weekend for how the expanded College Football Playoff has changed what constitutes a high-stakes game in November. Both teams have two losses and neither has a top 10 ranking.

Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. remains hospitalized after sustaining a head injury during a game. Burnett was still in the hospital on Tuesday, according to an Alabama A&M spokesman.

Diego Pavia and the surprising Vanderbilt Commodores are set to visit disappointing Auburn. The Commodores are a win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. The Tigers must win three of their last four to make a bowl after finally picking up their first Southeastern Conference victory against Kentucky.

Alabama is the Southeastern Conference favorite in basketball, not football. John Calipari is leading a team with high expectations, just not at Kentucky. And Texas and Oklahoma are along for the ride now, too.

Gio Lopez threw for 158 yards and a touchdown, and he added 67 yards rushing with another score to help South Alabama beat Troy 25-9 in the Battle for the Belt. South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt) beat Troy (1-6, 0-3) for the first time since 2017.

Alabama is the favorite to win the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship, led by preseason player of the year Mark Sears. The Crimson Tide, ranked second in the AP’s preseason Top 25, are coming off the program’s first Final Four run.

Kansas is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll ahead of Alabama and two-time defending national champion UConn. The Jayhawks got 30 of 60 first-place votes while the Crimson Tide received 14 and the Huskies got 11. Houston and Iowa State round out the top five, followed by Gonzaga, Duke, Baylor, North Carolina and Arizona.