Alabama Basketball has the two biggest wins of this young college basketball season. The most recent came on Wednesday night in the home of the Chicago Bulls. The United Center was packed with Illinois fans.
Nate Oats' opinion after the game was that Brad Underwood's team is a national championship contender. Oats also boldly stated that Alabama is a contender as well. Alabama's play in the 90-86 win was solid proof that Oats has reasons for such optimism.
In another high-profile setting, Madison Square Garden, Michigan State scorched the Kentucky Wildcats 83-66. The Spartans' win provided hope that in college basketball, maybe championships can't just be bought.
In an interesting story by Dana O'Neil, the theme of Michigan State's win and Kentucky's stunningly poor performance was borrowed from a 60-year-old Beatles song Can't Buy Me Love. As Paul McCartney sang, the Wildcats are learning that money cannot buy love.
According to reports, the Kentucky Wildcats have a player payroll of $22M. It is believed that the player payroll for Tom Izzo's team is around $5M. The bargain basement group beat the Wildcats so thoroughly that Mark Pope's postgame comments were bleak.
O'Neil wrote that the Spartans arrived at the Garden in team-issued sweatsuits. In contrast, one Kentucky player arrived in a $1200 designer jacket. Is the contrast meaningful? Many across the college basketball world hope it is.
Mark Pope said after the game, "I feel like the identity that we felt like we carried may have been stripped away, and that’s some reality we’re facing. ... That’s an incredibly, incredibly painful process. It’s a terrifying process. If you treat it right, it can be a galvanizing process. And that comes down to the character of your organization."
Team Cohesion for Alabama Basketball and Michigan State
Alabama basketball fans were disappointed when popular player, Mo Dioubate, left Tuscaloosa for more money in Lexington. A bigger concern for Alabama fans is Kentucky having bought a talent advantage that Alabama could not come close to affording.
But Wednesday night, Kentucky's money didn't matter. Even in just one game, the result was potentially a huge deal for college basketball. Like the Spartans against Kentucky, a tight-knit Alabama basketball team showed character by scratching and clawing its way to a big victory over Illinois. Like love, character too cannot be bought with money.