While Alabama fans are surely very pleased with the result of Saturday’s home win over the Baylor Bears, I’m sure they’re also wondering just what the deal is with this Crimson Tide basketball team.
Days after suffering their worst loss of the Nate Oats era against Georgia last Tuesday, the Tide defeated then-No. 4-ranked Baylor in front of the biggest (and perhaps loudest) crowd to watch a basketball game in the state of Alabama this season inside Coleman Coliseum.
While the win was fun to obtain and much-needed, it has left Alabama fans confused. Why can they beat the top teams in the country, yet lose to mediocrity in the fashion that they have this season? I don’t have the answers, but I do have hope.
I hope that the win over the Bears revitalizes the Tide, and I hope that they can demonstrate some consistency, something that has been severely lacking this season.
A solid test is approaching quickly. This week, the Crimson Tide will play two top-five teams consecutively. First, Alabama will travel to near-Georgia for the second of two matchups against the No. 1 Auburn Tigers this season on Tuesday, with the previous matchup ending in a close 81-77 loss for the Tide in Tuscaloosa in mid-January.
On Saturday, Alabama will return home to host the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats, who jumped into the top-five after complete and utter domination of what many consider one of the best teams in basketball, the Arizona Wildcats.
Many thought that the Tide would reenter the AP Top 25 after the big win over Baylor, but clearly, the voters are holding the Georgia loss with more weight than the five wins against AP top-15 opponents this season.
Alabama did, however, obtain 97 points in the poll, which was the most among unranked teams, barely missing out on the top 25.
Alabama received 97 voting points in the AP poll this week, the most of any team not in the top 25.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) January 31, 2022
Plenty of opportunities remain for the Tide to reclaim their rightful position within the AP Poll, but it doesn’t really matter, anyways.
All Oats needs to do is keep his playmakers ready and the team in pristine condition for a tough stretch of games and the rest will work itself out in time.
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