Alabama Is An Enigma

Great Wins

It shocked everyone when Alabama lost to Iona in Orlando on Thanksgiving. Since then though they have crushed Miami, beat Gonzaga in Seattle, and beat Houston in a thriller.

In the big win over Gonzaga, Alabama pretty much controlled the game from the opening tip-off. The Crimson Tide led by as many as eighteen at one point in that game. When the Tide beat Houston, the Cougars were still at full strength. That game was before they lost both Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark for the year.

Bad, Unranked Losses

Like I said earlier, Alabama has five losses to unranked teams. While that seems really bad on its face, you have to look at who those losses are to. Iona is a good team with a national championship winning head coach, but it’s still an MAAC team. Memphis had the nation’s best recruiting class, but has really struggled this season. Davidson was on an eight-game winning streak, a streak that has now reached fourteen. Mississippi State is a bubble team. Missouri is not very good though. My point is that their unranked losses could definitely be worse. Time will tell if those losses were just flukes or if it is who this Alabama team really is.

High Tide Potential

This Alabama team has a lot of potential. I wrote about it in the preseason. They have obviously shown it multiple times this season. The Crimson Tide have four quad one wins. They are 24th in the NET Rankings and 16th in KenPom. But other times that potential was nowhere to be found.

Alabama is one of the best offensive teams in the country. They are number ten in adjusted offensive efficiency. Three players, Jaden Shackelford, Jahvon Quinerly, and Keon Ellis, all average double figures. They go eight deep and have a good balance of production between their starters and their bench. The Crimson Tide have multiple players near the top of the list in many categories among players in the SEC.

How Do We Analyze Them?

So how do we analyze Alabama? Well, you have to look at everything that I’ve mentioned, and then look to the future as well. The SEC has been very good this year, so there are plenty of opportunities for Alabama to turn things around, get back on track, and be more consistent. But at the same time, the fact that the SEC has been very good could also make it more difficult for Alabama to get better. But they definitely can. Think about all of that when you are looking at them.