There was a lot of disappointment surrounding the Alabama basketball program in the aftermath of Tuesday night's loss to Ole Miss in Coleman Coliseum. Losing a game at home is always a tough pill to swallow, especially for fans of a team that feels like a contender in the national title race.
But basketball has its ebbs and flows. And Alabama bounced back in a big way with an impressive 102-97 win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington on Saturday. Because of that win, Alabama's NCAA Tournament standing has remained roughly the same as it was coming into the week.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Alabama as his fourth and final No. 1 seed following the Tide's win in College Station last Saturday. Alabama dropped back all the way to No. 5 overall and the top two seed following the loss to Ole Miss.
After beating Kentucky teamed with Tennessee's road loss to Vanderbilt, the Crimson Tide is back on the 1-seed line:
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) January 18, 2025
Obviously, NCAA Tournament projections at this point mean very little. But this should serve as a reminder to fans that the basketball season is long and there's a lot more variance than there is for football.
Teams will have off nights like Alabama did on Tuesday. You're going to take some losses no matter how good you are. 19 of the 25 teams in the AP Poll this week lost at least one game. Basketball is not for the faint of heart.
Alabama is building a resume that will stack up against anyone. The win over Kentucky was the Crimson Tide's fifth Q1 win of the season and Alabama is a combined 10-3 against Q1/2 opponents with all three losses coming to teams inside the first quadrant.