Alabama Crimson Tide (6-3)
Even without NBA top-10 pick Colin Sexton, Avery Johnson and Alabama Basketball had reasons for optimism when it comes to competing for another NCAA Tournament bid. They returned basically everyone else, while also bringing Tevin Mack, who averaged around 15 ppg before leaving Texas.
Those hopes took a hit in the opening round of the Charleston Classic, where the Crimson Tide took a bad 16-point loss to Northeastern. They were able to salvage a win over Wichita State in the event, but lost opportunities at other good wins.
In the last week, Alabama took another bad loss, this time to the Georgia State Panthers of the Sun Belt. They were able to somewhat offset that with a home win over Arizona, but it’s not going to be as good a win as season’s past.
There are more bad losses than great wins at the moment for Alabama, and with a tough SEC slate, more losses are likely on the way. Should fans be nervous about the Tide missing out on the Big Dance?
Patience
Sexton’s absence created a question mark about who would become the go-to scorer for this team. Turns out it was another freshman guard, this time 6’3 playmaker Kira Lewis. He’s leading Alabama in scoring at over 15 ppg, upping his average to 19.4 ppg in the last five games.
The supporting cast has been solid, with six players averaging between 7.4-10.9 ppg. Although not great scorers, they’ve been good on defense and on the boards. But like all freshmen, Lewis will eventually hit the freshman wall in conference play. Players such as John Petty, Herb Jones, and Dazon Ingram will have to have great games when that occurs.
While the SEC will give Alabama more losses, there are more opportunities at great wins, and assuming the Tide enters conference play with just three losses, they can go 9-9 or 8-10 in the league and still warrant a bid. There’s improvement that needs to be made but the conference gives Bama a bigger cushion than other bubble teams.