Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide climbs to No. 22 in AP Poll
Following a first week in which the Alabama Basketball team won its first two games of the season against Morehead State and Indiana State the Alabama Basketball team is now ranked 22nd in the country. This is a two-spot jump for the Alabama Basketball team who entered the season ranked 24th. This team has a chance to continue to climb this week as it hosts South Alabama on Tuesday and Mercer on Friday. The 22nd ranking lands Alabama Basketball as the fifth-ranked team in the SEC as Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Kentucky come in ranked ahead of the Crimson Tide.
The Alabama basketball team will use these two games to continue to fine-tune parts of their team before heading to Destin, Florida for the Emerald Coast Classic. The Crimson Tide will open the classic against the Ohio State Buckeyes with hopes of advancing in this tournament that they’ll likely be favored to win.
Alabama Basketball: A chance to raise expectations in a week
The expectations around this Alabama team aren’t as high as they’ve been in the past few years under Nate Oats. However, if Nate Oats’ team goes down to Destin, Florida, and knocks off Ohio State and potentially Oregon the expectations around this team will suddenly shift. Through two games the offense fits the bill of a typical Nate Oats team with a high tempo and a heavy dosage of three-pointers. The issue thus far has been the defense as opponents are averaging over 75 points per game against this year’s team. This week will be a major prove-it week for some of the fringe players on the Alabama Basketball team as any players who step up and play solid defense will be in the rotation for the Emerald Coast Classic. Outside of the Classic, the real prove-it opportunities for Alabama Basketball will be in December as the Crimson Tide will face off against Second Ranked Purdue, Eighth-ranked Creighton, and Third-ranked Arizona.
Next. Three Promising Signs from the Kentucky game. dark
Note: Rankings Via The AP.