If Alabama Basketball ‘broke through’ last season, this season was a blip on the way to sustained success. Some Crimson Tide fans were more relieved than disappointed about the early NCAA Tournament exit. Every credible source in college basketball believed before the Notre Dame game, a Tide win would lead to a Texas Tech blowout in the second round. Notre Dame saved us that anguish.
Opinions on the 2022 Crimson Tide run from doubting Nate Oats and the Tide hoops future to a belief Nate Oats is building a consistent winner that will ‘Dance’ competitively every season. There is a broad range of opinions between those two perspectives and no one can know how much optimism or pessimism is warranted.
Alabama basketball fans will not have to wait for next season’s SEC schedule or 2023 post-season play for an unveiling of how good the Tide will be. According to the website for the Rose Quarter in Portland, during Thanksgiving weekend, the Alabama Crimson Tide will compete in an eight-team event. The other seven teams are Iowa State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon, Portland, U Conn and Villanova. Later in the non-conference season, the Tide will host Gonzaga in Birmingham, Memphis in Tuscaloosa, plus an away game with Houston.
Alabama fans know a hot start this season did not augur February and March success. The same could be true next year. But Nate Oats is right to schedule tough games if, for no other reason, it boosts the Tide’s profile with recruits.