NCAA Basketball: North Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
17. Alabama (21-10)
The Crimson Tide have established themselves as one of the best offensive units in the entire country. They’ve done brilliant work in the SEC, with just about all of their losses this season coming to top-level foes. While they haven’t exactly ended the regular season on the right foot, they at least avoided total disaster in this last week.
A poor defensive effort was on display on Tuesday, as the Crimson Tide fell 105-87 at Florida. Mark Sears had another outstanding effort with 33 points, but Florida certainly outplayed them, avenging a loss from a few weeks ago. The same result almost happened over the weekend, but the Crimson Tide pulled out a 92-88 overtime win over Arkansas, despite trailing for much of the game. Sears had 22, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 20, and both starting forwards had double-doubles.
This Alabama squad has had a handful of 100-point scoring games, but the concern is clearly stopping people on the other end of the court. There likely won’t be a game in the coming weeks where the Crimson Tide struggle to put up points, though it’ll be interesting to see how this talented roster handles the pressure of the Big Dance. We’ll see what kind of headway they can make in the SEC Tournament, perhaps improving their seed for the NCAA Tournament.