14. Alabama Crimson Tide
It’s been a brutal past three games for the program, taking on Gonzaga, Houston, and Memphis recently. A 2-1 record is perfectly fine, although they did get handily beaten against the Tigers on Tuesday night. But that game, along with the loss to Iona in the ESPN Events Classic showed that this team can be beaten when off from three-point range.
However, when the Crimson Tide is on from deep, almost no one in NCAA Basketball can beat them. That’s what happened to Gonzaga in Seattle, as the SEC program outran them in a big program-defining victory. Jaden Shackelford had a season-high 28 points versus the Bulldogs and leads the Tide overall with nearly 20 ppg on 42% three-point shooting.
Alabama-Houston was a chess match between Alabama's spread ball screens and Houston's "2-on-the ball" defense
— Jordan Sperber (@hoopvision68) December 12, 2021
Breakdown of how Nate Oats and Bama exploited Houston's coverage during crunch time with a set play for back-to-back Jaden Shackelford threes
(sound on 🔊) pic.twitter.com/vzjKE9IDvl
Alabama is loaded with guards all over the roster, as Jahvon Quinerly (15.1 ppg and 4.3 apg) has been great as a full-time starter, while five-star freshman JD Davison has continued to improve and been effective off the bench. And even with some of the injuries the team has gone through, role players such as Juwan Gary, Noah Gurley, Keon Ellis, and Darius Miles, and even starting center Charles Bediako have all been impressive.
This is a team with a top 10 offensive nationally with 4-5 players that can give you 20 points on a given night. The defense isn’t elite but doesn’t have to be in this fast-paced offense and wins over Gonzaga and Houston have shown the collective ceiling they have. Right now, Alabama looks like a favorite to win the SEC this season, which automatically makes them a legit Final Four contender.