The Alabama basketball team is a for-real Final Four and National Championship contender. But it may be March before there is clear proof. The reason why is how tough the SEC basketball grind will be this season.
In the Week 7, AP Poll, Alabama Basketball is ranked No. 6. Along with the Crimson Tide, five SEC teams are ranked in the top seven teams. Tennessee is No. 1; Auburn is No. 2; Kentucky is No. 4, and Florida is No. 7. Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss are also ranked in the AP Top 25.
Exactly half of Alabama's regular season, SEC schedule is games against current Top 25 teams. The Crimson Tide plays the Vols once, in Knoxville, and has a pair of games with both Auburn and Kentucky. In the current AP Poll, the top three 'Others Receiving Votes' are three other SEC teams; Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Missouri. Alabama plays Mississippi State twice and travels to Missouri and Arkansas.
Ken Pomeroy's respected algorithm has Auburn at No. 1; Tennessee at No. 2; Florida at No. 7; Alabama at No. 8; Kentucky at No. 11; Texas A&M at No. 18, and Ole Miss at No. 24. The only SEC teams outside of Pomeroy's top 50 are LSU, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.
At this point, Auburn and Tennessee are the two best SEC teams. ESPN's BPI projects 3.9 conference losses for the Tigers and 4.4 losses for the Vols. Alabama is projected to have 6.5 conference losses.
Alabama Basketball will be better late - when it most matters
Crimson Tide fans need not be overly concerned. Nate Oats arguably has the deepest talent in the SEC, and maybe in the nation. Alabama can be counted on to be better in February and beyond than the Crimson Tide is today. In March when the championship chases explode, Nate Oats should have a team with a reasonable potential to romp through the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in route to two championships. If so, SEC regular season losses will not matter.