Alabama Basketball: On the Tide’s chances to run SEC table
By Ronald Evans
Though Selection Sunday is six weeks away, many Alabama basketball fans are focused on the NCAA Tournament. There are a few reasons why enthusiasm for the Big Dance should not be the full plate.
Stunning reversals happen in college basketball almost weekly. In one game, even between two, not evenly matched teams, any outcome is possible. Alabama Basketball is in Baton Rouge Saturday afternoon as a double-digit favorite. The LSU program has not recovered from the damage done by Will Wade. The Bengal Tigers should not pull off the upset, but no game should be taken for granted by the Alabama team and Crimson Tide fans.
What we can do is consider how good are the Crimson Tide’s chances to finish the SEC regular season at 18-0. Alabama Basketball has not had an undefeated, SEC regular season since 1956 when Johnny Dee’s team was 14-0.
Running the table in the SEC is neither common nor rare. In the last 30 SEC regular seasons, five teams have been undefeated. Four of the five were Kentucky Wildcats’ teams. The fifth was the Florida Gators in 2014. The Cats did it in 1996, 2003, 2012 and 2015. The best Alabama has done going back to the 1956 team is 16-2, in 1987 and 2021.
An Alabama Basketball SEC Regular Season Championship
Winning the SEC regular season championship is important. Doing it as an undefeated team is quite impressive.
The Team Rankings algorithm projects the Crimson Tide has a 72.5% probability to win the SEC Regular Season Championship. The same source predicts a 16-2 SEC finish. Warren Nolan projects a 17-1 finish. Ken Pomeroy is bullish on the Crimson Tide but gives Alabama only a slight chance to finish undefeated.
The remaining nine SEC games include five away games for the Crimson Tide. After Saturday, Alabama Basketball gets Florida at home; Auburn away; Tennessee away; Georgia at home; South Carolina away; Arkansas at home; Auburn at home and Texas A&M away.
The Crimson Tide running the table at 18-0 would be great fun for all. But being SEC Regular Season Champions, no matter the record is more important.
While we fans can get way ahead in expectations, players cannot. It can be easy to forget that just as games are won, one possession at a time, seasons and tournament championships are won one game at a time.
Note: SEC team records provided by Sports Reference
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There is much basketball left; possibly as many as 18 more games. An ebb is always lurking. Let’s enjoy the ride.