Before this season tipped-off about a month ago, many looked to this Saturday's match-up with the Arizona Wildcats (6-3) as a potential top 25 battle. Most assumed the Crimson Tide (7-2) would be the most likely of the two to be unranked going into this game, however, Alabama actually received more votes than the pre-season #3 Wildcats did in the latest AP Poll. The reason for that is because Arizona had a miserable experience at the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving weekend, dropping all three of their games and finishing dead last in a pretty-stacked field.
However, that trip was almost assuredly the low-point of the season for Arizona, as they have since rebounded to win three straight, including a big 67-64 win over SEC contenders and previously unbeaten #7 Texas A&M on Tuesday night.