After the Alabama Crimson Tide collapse in Birmingham, there's no clarity about the SEC's best team

Saturday night in Birmingham, the Alabama Crimson Tide had an opportunity to lay down a claim as the SEC's best team. Alabama blew it, statistically, by being dominated on the boards and generally by not being tough enough to battle an elite opponent.

After the game, Nate Oats said, "We’ve got rebounding issues. Until we fix them, we’re not really gonna be able to beat a good team." The comment was correct and a repeat of earlier post-game comments after losses to other top teams. Credit Oats for his out-of-conference scheduling, chosen to reveal his team's weaknesses.

How bad was Alabama's performance on Saturday night? Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News gave the perfect description.

"The Jimi Hendrix rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" blasted loudly through Legacy Arena as the Alabama basketball team walked off the floor as losers of a blowout, summed up perfectly how the Crimson Tide must have been feeling.

There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief.

There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief."

Chase Goodbread

The stain of not being up to Saturday's task will linger, but the Crimson Tide will get relief from a string of games against Kennesaw State, South Florida, and Yale., though both USF and Yale are not pushover teams. After the trio of out-of-conference games, Alabama opens the SEC season with Kentucky in Tuscaloosa, followed by Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Currently, a consensus from five top computer rankings has Vanderbilt as the SEC's best team. The models vary considerably about other teams, but a total of nine SEC teams are ranked inside college basketball's top 45 teams in at least three of the five models. The models are: KPom, Bart Torvik's T-Rank, Kevin Pauga's KPI, ESPN's BPI, and the most official rankings, the NCAA NET.

Computer Rankings Alabama Crimson Tide and eight other SEC teams

• Vanderbilt Commodores (10-0) - No. 3 (KPI), No. 6 (NCAA NET), No. 8 (Torvik), No. 11 (KPom), and No. 17 (ESPN BPI)

• Alabama Crimson Tide (7-3) - No. 12 (Torvik), No. 14 (NET), No. 15 (KPom and BPI), No. 20 (KPI)

• Florida Gators (6-4) - No. 11 (BPI), No. 13 (KPom), No. 16 (Torvik), No. 23 (NET), No. 44 (KPI)

• Tennessee Vols (7-3) - No. 18 (BPI, KPom, Torvik), No. 36 (NET), No. 40 (KPI)

• Georgia Bulldogs (9-1) - No. 18 NET), No. 21 (KPom), No. 26 (BPI), No. 27 (Torvik), No. 46 (KPI)

• Arkansas Razorbacks (8-2) - No. 19 (NET), No. 20 (Torvik), No. 25 (KPom), No. 28 (BPI), No. 31 (KPI)

• Kentucky Wildcats (7-4) - No. 14 (BPI), No. 19 (KPom), No. 26 (Torvik), No. 27 (NET), No. 108 (KPI)

• Auburn Tigers (8-3) - No. 22 (BPI), No. 29 (KPom), No. 34 (NET and Torvik), No. 42 (KPI)

• LSU Bengal Tigers (9-1) - No. 25 (KPI), No. 32 (NET), No. 34 (KPom), No. 36 (Torvik), No. 42 (BPI)