13. Alabama (6-2)
We sound like a broken record saying this every week, but Nate Oats challenges his teams in the nonconference slate and that’s certainly been on display. Alabama has fantastic wins over Illinois and St. John’s and tough losses against Gonzaga and Purdue and we’re still weeks away from SEC play. This past week brought another solid opportunity for the Crimson Tide and their return home after several weeks away.
As part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, the Crimson Tide hosted Clemson on Wednesday night, getting a 90-84 win over the Tigers in the process. Alabama’s offense remains potent, getting 29 points from Labaron Philon Jr. and a 20-point, 11-rebound effort out of Amari Allen. The Crimson Tide secured what is already their fourth win over a power conference foe.
Alabama did brilliant things for the most part in Las Vegas at the Players Era Festival and showed they belong with top teams throughout nonconference play. This past week they had another great effort against a recent football rival and solid basketball program, but this difficult slate still isn’t finished. The Crimson Tide have a big matchup against Arizona this upcoming Friday and one last chance to make a statement.