Alabama basketball is halfway through its SEC schedule and finished the first half at 8-1 overall with key road wins over Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Mississippi State. Unfortunately, the one loss came at home to Ole Miss and is currently the different between the Crimson Tide and in-state rival Auburn.
The Tigers remain undefeated in SEC play. Their stellar play leaves very little margin for error left for Alabama down the stretch of the season if Nate Oats and his team want a legtimate shot at winning the SEC's regular season title.
As things currently stand, eight of Alabama's nine remaining regular season games are Quadrant 1 games. The home matchup with Mississippi State is the only one sitting at Q2 and that could change by the time the Bulldogs travel to Tuscaloosa near the end of February.
Mississippi State is currently 31st in NET. They need to be Top 30 for that game to be a Q1 opportunity. You can learn more about NET rankings and Quadrants by clicking here.
All eyes are on Alabama's upcoming game with Auburn on February 15th in Tuscaloosa, but the Crimson Tide has a pair of challenging road games in front of it before welcoming the Tigers to Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama travels to Fayetteville to face Arkansas on Saturday and then has a quick turnaround in Austin on Tuesday against Texas. KenPom views both games as relative toss-ups. Alabama has a 68% chance of beating Arkansas, per KenPom. They are at 54% chance of victory in Austin.
After Auburn comes to Tuscaloosa on the 15th, things don't get much easier. Alabama travels to Missouri to take on a surprising Tigers squad that is still in the thick of the SEC race themselves. Alabama then gets Kentucky and Mississippi State at home before finishing the regular season at Tennessee, home vs. Florida, and at Auburn.
Going 6-3 in the last nine games would be an impressive feat for the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to be good enough to win the SEC. Auburn would need to go 6-4 in its final 10 for Alabama to tie the Tigers atop the SEC standings. As well as Auburn has been playing, that seems unlikely.
Realistically, it'll take going 7-2 or 8-1 down the stretch for the Crimson Tide to have a shot at taking the league crown. They absolutely have to beat Auburn on the 15th, and there's a nonzero chance that the regular season title comes down to the rematch at Auburn on March 8th.
This team has not peaked yet, but the Crimson Tide is beginning to look more like the team we expected to see. With an uptick in three-point shooting led by Mark Sears, Aden Holloway, and Chris Youngblood, Alabama's ceiling has been raised.
If the Tide can continue playing defense like it did in Saturday's 90-69 win over Georgia, they have the firepower to win the whole thing. Hitting their peak over the final nine regular season games will be necessary for Alabama to have a legitimate shot of beating out Auburn for the SEC Championship.