The Associated Press

Alabama moved to the top of the Associated Press men's college basketball poll for the first time Monday and went out and struggled to beat Morehead State 82-64.

"The No. 1 ranking just makes it harder on us," Kenny Walker said after scoring 24 points. "We don't feel like we're No. 1."

And the Crimson Tide didn't play that way either at times. Walker and Mo Williams saved Alabama (9-0) from a nerve-racking ending, at least, combining for 35 points after the team went down 41-39 with 16:45 left.

"We took a good shot from them," Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried said.

Williams had 21 points and seven assists as the Tide survived life at the top for at least one week. Walker added six blocks, and Emmett Thomas scored 12 points.

Before this season, Alabama had never been ranked higher than No. 3, and that lasted a mere two weeks 26 years ago.

The Tide, which has won 25 straight home games, gets a week off before playing at Utah.

"Every night we've got a big target on our back," guard Antoine Pettway said. "Everybody's going to try to knock us off now."

Marquis Sykes and Ricky Minard each scored 17 points for Morehead State (4-4), which made sure Alabama didn't get to take Monday night off.

The players seemed more excited about the chance to go home for a few days for Christmas than the No. 1 ranking.

"It's not a big deal," said Erwin Dudley, who had seven points and 12 rebounds. "We've still got to go out and play. It just makes the target bigger for us."

The Tide shot 54.8 percent in the second half and committed only seven turnovers. Alabama blocked seven shots and recorded eight steals.

Chez Marks gave the Eagles the lead briefly, capping an 11-2 run to open the second half with a basket and free throw.

Williams answered 13 seconds later with a 3-pointer and Dudley followed with a three-point play to start a 13-0 run that Walker capped with a dunk.

"We looked around and it was like, 'Hey, we've got a game,"' Williams said.

Morehead State cut the lead to seven points several times after that, the final one with 7:43 left.

Then, Williams and Walker scored Alabama's next nine points and 13 of the final 15.

"We're not big enough or physical enough to where we can stand there and jump with these guys," said Morehead State coach Kyle Macy, a former Kentucky player.

The Tide didn't change what carried the team to the top: Using good defense to trump bad offense.

Alabama missed its first five shots before hitting seven straight to start a 21-6 run and take a 25-12 lead after an early deficit.

The Tide had other stretches of 0-for-6 and 0-for-9 in the first half but still led 37-30 against the undersized and overmatched Eagles.

"I didn't know how our players would respond to this," Gottfried said. "In the first half, they were so giddy and excited, even in the lockerroom."

He gathered the seniors - Terrence Meade, Dudley and Walker - at midcourt in the pre-game shootaround after telling the team of its No. 1 ranking.

"I told the seniors today I'm proud of them," he said. "They came to Alabama when our program was a long way from where it is now. They've laid the foundation for us."

Alabama didn't commit a turnover for the first 10 minutes and held the nation's fifth-best shooting team to 36 percent before halftime.

Meade, who hadn't reached double digits in the past six games, scored 11 before halftime for the Tide.

He also offered a word of advice for handling the current lofty heights.

"We can't let it get to our heads," Meade said.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Kenny Walker and Mo Williams led the Crimson Tide, which celebrated its No.1 ranking with a rout.

MOREHEAD ST. (4-4)-McKnight 1-4 0-0 2, Lopez 1-5 2-2 4, Marks 3-11 3-3 11, Sykes 8-12 0-0 17, Minard 4-9 8-8 17, Hankins 3-7 3-4 9, Lewis 0-4 0-0 0, Aliu 0-0 0-0 0, Kerley 1-6 2-3 4. Totals 21-58 18-20 64.

ALABAMA (9-0)-Thomas 5-11 0-2 12, Dudley 3-8 1-2 7, Walker 9-14 6-9 24, Meade 5-11 0-0 13, Williams 6-12 6-7 21, Rambo 0-1 0-0 0, Shelton 1-5 0-0 3, Brock 0-0 0-0 0, Pettway 1-5, 0-0 2. Totals 30-67 13-20 82.

Halftime-Alabama 37-30. 3-Point goals-Morehead St. 4-15 (Marks 2-7, Minard 1-2, Sykes 1-3, Hankins 0-3), Alabama 9-27 (Williams 3-6, Meade 3-7, Thomas 2-7, Shelton 1-4, Pettway 0-3). Fouled out-Minard, McKnight. Rebounds-Morehead St. 38 (Kerley 11), Alabama 41 (Dudley 12). Assists-Morehead St. 6 (Sykes 3), Alabama 13 (Williams 7). Total fouls-Morehead St. 21, Alabama 16. A-10,560.

No. 12 Florida 74, Charleston Southern 62

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Matt Bonner scored 17 points and Anthony Roberson added 16 as the Gators overcame a 10-point first-half deficit. The Gators have won 34 consecutive games at home against non-conference opponents.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (4-4) - Drafts 4-8 0-0 11, White 5-11 0-0 10, K.Warzynski 7-12 2-2 16, Brown 2-7 0-0 6, Granger 4-10 0-0 8, O'Neill 1-3 0-0- 2, Harrison 1-3 1-2 3, C.Warzynski 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 27-58 3-4 62.

FLORIDA (9-2) - Walsh 4-8 3-4 14, Bonner 6-11 2-2 17, Lee 2-3 1-3 5, Nelson 2-9 2-2 7, Hamilton 5-5 2-2 13, Roberson 6-10 0-0 16, Boggan 0-2 0-0 0, Moss 0-1 0-0 0, Al-Kaleem 0-3 0-0 0, Colas 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-53 10-13 74.

Halftime-Charleston Southern 32-30. 3-Point goals-Charleston Southern 5-20 (Drafts 3-7, Brown 2-5, K.Warzynski 0-1, O'Neill 0-1, Harrison 0-1, C.Warzynski 0-1, Granger 0-4), Florida 12-29 (Roberson 4-7, Bonner 3-5, Walsh 3-6, Hamilton 1-1, Nelson 1-7, Al-Kaleem 0-3). Fouled out-None. Technical-Granger. Rebounds-Charleston Southern 29 (K.Warzynski 6), Florida 30 (Bonner, Hamilton 6). Assists-Charleston Southern 20 (Brown 6), Florida 21 (Hamilton 6). Total fouls-Charleston Southern 13, Florida 10. A-8,824.

No. 20 Tulsa 78, TCU 65

TULSA, Okla. - Jason Parker scored 25 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa scored the game's first 11 points and the Horned Frogs never got closer than four.

TCU (4-5)-Chinweze 3-4 2-8 8, Merriex 3-9 1-5 8, Santee 4-12 1-2 12, Blount 3-14 6-7 14, Valsin 0-2 0-0 0, Hobbs 1-3 1-2 3, Smith 1-5 2-2 4, J. Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Sloan 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 5-10 6-6 16, Carter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 19-32 65.

TULSA (7-1)-C. Davis 1-3 0-1 2, Johnson 3-7 5-8 11, Swanson 6-11 0-0 15, Glenn 4-8 3-8 11, Parker 8-14 5-5 25, Reed 1-5 0-0 3, Collins 1-2 2-2 4, Ledoux 3-7 0-1 7, Price 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 27-57 15-27 78.

Halftime-Tulsa 38-27. 3-point goals-TCU 6-23 (Merriex 1-2, Santee 3-7, Blount 2-10, Valsin 0-1, Hobbs 0-1, Smith 0-2). Tulsa 9-23 (Swanson 3-7, Parker 4-7, Reed 1-5, Ledoux 1-1, Collins 0-1, Glenn 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Fouled out-Merriex. Rebounds-TCU 42 (Brown 12), Tulsa 45 (Johnson 10). Assists-TCU 8 (Santee 3), Tulsa 16 (Parker 7). Total fouls-TCU 25, Tulsa 21. A-8,355.

No. 23 Maryland 101, UMBC 60

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Ryan Randle scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the second half for the Terps.

With nine assists, Maryland's Steve Blake become only the 23rd player in NCAA history to amass 800 in his career. The senior guard has 806.

MD.-BALTIMORE COUNTY (3-4)-Washington 2-12 0-0 5, Williams 2-7 0-0 4, Young 1-2 2-2 4, Gogerty 2-4 0-0 6, Wilson 5-13 2-5 14, Dinkins 0-0 0-0 0, Hatcher 5-9 2-2 15, Feeley 4-10 4-5 12. Totals 21-57 10-14 60.

MARYLAND (5-3)-Caner-Medley 4-6 2-2 11, Randle 10-15 1-4 21, Garrison 2-3 4-7 8, Nicholas 4-11 6-6 15, Blake 4-10 0-0 11, Smith 5-7 2-4 12, Collins 1-2 0-0 3, McCall 3-3 3-4 11, Gilchrist 0-4 2-2 2, McCray 1-1 2-4 4, Henry 1-2 1-2 3, Grinnon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-64 23-35 101.

Halftime-Maryland 45, UMBC 28. 3-Point goals-UMBC 8-15 (Hatcher 3-5, Gogerty 2-3, Wilson 2-4, Washington 1-3), Maryland 8-15 (Blake 3-5, McCall 2-2, Collins 1-1, Caner-Medley 1-2, Nicholas 1-3, Smith 0-1, Gilchrist 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-UMBC 28 (Feeley 12), Maryland 45 (Randle 9). Assists-UMBC 16 (Gogerty 5), Maryland 22 (Blake 9). Total fouls-UMBC 22, Maryland 14. Technicals- Maryland coach Williams. A-17,602.

Notes

ALCORN STATE: Point guard Jeff Cammon was ruled out for the season because the NCAA said he didn't meet requirements for another year of eligibility. Cammon, a senior, is a former walk-on who was ineligible to play as a freshman. He could have earned a fourth season of eligibility by earning his degree in four years.