NCAA Basketball: Texas, Virginia soar on top 25 ranking ahead of Thanksgiving

14. Alabama (4-0)

There have been significant steps forward taken by Alabama in recent years since Nate Oats has taken charge of the program. The Crimson Tide are a legitimate contender in the SEC and have a roster full of talent and potential once again in Tuscaloosa.  We haven’t really seen what this club is made of quite yet, but they’ve handled all of their early challenges.

The week began with a rare road matchup and a trip to nearby South Alabama. The Crimson Tide held serve for a 65-55 victory, led by Brandon Miller’s 19-point, 8-rebound effort. Fellow forward Noah Clowney had 15 rebounds and was part of a great defensive effort. Alabama ran their start to 4-0 a few days later, getting a no-nonsense 104-62 victory against Jacksonville State. Miller was fantastic again, this time scoring 28 points, while Nimari Burnett and Mark Sears added 18 apiece.

It’s good news to be in this position, as Alabama has looked great in all four of these wins. The Crimson Tide hasn’t allowed more than 62 points in a game yet and their offensive explosion against the Gamecocks shows that they have the ability to win games in different ways. However, the schedule gets much more difficult in the coming weeks, starting with the Phil Knight Invitational next week and a game against a red-hot Michigan State team. We’re going to learn a lot about these Crimson Tide very fast.