Alabama Basketball earned a huge confidence-building win last night, overcoming a slow start en route to a commanding 96-83 conquest over Kentucky.
The victory gave Alabama yet another quality win and the season sweep of the Wildcats. Beating a ranked Kentucky team is a good win in any context, but this one was much needed for Alabama coming off of a two-game skid.
Perhaps those back-to-back losses were the fuel the Crimson Tide needed to re-focus. Nate Oats’ team will need to be at the top of its game for the remainder of the year, as it faces an unbelievably tough stretch to close the regular season before it heads into postseason play.
Having already faced three straight ranked opponents in no. 1 Auburn, no. 15 Missouri, and no. 17 Kentucky, things will only get more difficult going forward. Bama’s "reprieve" will be hosting a physical Mississippi State squad, one that is ranked 21st nationally, on Tuesday night.
After that, it faces three consecutive contenders for no. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, including two on the road. It will first travel to Knoxville to face No. 6 Tennessee. The Volunteers are always formidable under Rick Barnes and are coming off a top-10 road win of their own over Texas A&M.
The Tide then plays the top two teams in the nation, no. 2 Florida and at no. 1 Auburn. Collectively, Alabama's final three regular season opponents boast a record of 71-10, with four of those losses coming against each other.
Needless to say, this is a laughably challenging stretch. Even with the sky-high, championship-level aspirations that Alabama Basketball fans have for the Tide this year, another loss or two on the regular season resume might be inevitable.
Bama fans must keep their expectations at least somewhat realistic and understand that this is a tough slate even in the 2024-25 SEC, which has become perhaps the most competitive league in the history of college basketball.
Regardless of Alabama’s record in this closing stretch, the Crimson Tide couldn’t ask for a better gauntlet to prepare it for NCAA Tournament play. The final seven games of Alabama’s regular season schedule, and the last three in particular, will likely be far tougher than any stretch of games it will face in the Big Dance.
A veteran team led by Coach Nate Oats and headlined by All-American guard Mark Sears, Alabama Basketball has unfinished business this season. Last year, the team made it to the first Final Four in school history, and now it looks to finish the job. It will certainly be battle-tested heading into the 2025 tourney.