NCAA

The No. 20 Alabama women's basketball team is set to host the No. 7 LSU Tigers. The teams face off on Thursday for the first time this season following the Tide's win over Auburn.

Chris Youngblood scored a season-best 27 points and No. 6 Alabama made nearly half of its 45 attempts from 3-point range in a 111-73 win over No. 24 Mississippi State. Mark Sears had 21 points and 10 assists for the Crimson Tide, who set a season high for 3s by going 22 of 45 from long range.

Mark Sears of sixth-ranked Alabama is The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the week. The senior guard from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, became only the second player in the last 20 years with back-to-back 30-point games last week.

There are some big games in the SEC in men's college basketball this week. The biggest involve a couple of teams from the state of Alabama. Top-ranked Auburn faces Ole Miss before heading to Kentucky on Saturday, while the No. 6 Crimson Tide face Mississippi State and Tennessee.

Auburn remained atop the AP Top 25 for the seventh straight week Monday while preseason No. 1 Kansas fell out of the men’s basketball poll for the first time since February 2021. The Tigers were a unanimous No. 1 and were followed by Duke, Florida, Houston and Tennessee in the top five.

Alabama is back in the win column after defeating Kentucky at home ninety six to eighty three. Star guard Mark Sears scored thirty as the number four ranked Crimson Tide bounced back from losses to Auburn and Missouri. Chris Youngblood added fourteen points in the win of the number seventeen ranked Wildcats.

Alabama hosts Kentucky tomorrow in Tuscaloosa after back to back losses to Auburn and Missouri. The Crimson Tide is playing it’s final regular season games before the start of March Madness. Mizzou coach Dennis Gates headed off students who might have charged onto the court in celebration after the Tigers upset Alabama on Wednesday.

Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 1 Auburn overcame a rough offensive performance to beat Arkansas 67-60 on Wednesday night. After winning at Alabama on Saturday in a game between the top teams in the poll, Auburn avoided its second straight home loss.

Fourth-ranked Alabama's loss to rival Auburn marked the first of seven straight games against ranked teams to close the regular season. This week's schedule includes matchups against No. 17 Kentucky and No. 15 Missouri. The matchup with Missouri, which is 8-4 against the SEC, takes place on Wednesday.

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers will host conference opponent Arkansas. The teams meet Wednesday for the first time this season. Auburn is 11-1 against the SEC, and Arkansas is 4-8 against conference opponents.