Alabama basketball is off to a tremendous start to SEC play and sits at 14-2 overall and is one of three teams in the league with a 3-0 mark in conference play. The Crimson Tide is ranked inside the Top 5 in the major polls and they are a consensus Top 5 or 10 team in all the computer metrics.
The Crimson Tide is a contender for the national title this season just like most people thought in the preseason. They've shown improvement over the course of the season already and have yet to reach their final form.
Head coach Nate Oats has always taken an analytical approach to basketball. Everyone knows Alabama has a unique style of play in that they're trying to score one of three ways offensively: at the rim, at the free throw line, or from three.
The mid-range shot is the least efficient shot in basketball and Oats has virtually erased it from his offense. Because of that, Alabama has one of the most efficient offenses in the country. According to KenPom, Alabama ranks 2nd in the country in offensive efficiency, and that's without shooting a high percentage from three.
But because Alabama doesn't take a lot of contested mid-range twos, the Crimson Tide ranks 2nd in the country in two-point field goal percentage.
With Oats preaching analytics and focusing on leverage numbers to see which lineups work the best, it is interesting that Alabama is using one lineup so little so far.
Alabama's most efficient five-man lineup
Per EvanMiya, Alabama's most efficient five-man group consists of three guards: Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, and Chris Youngblood, along with two bigs in Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.
That group is sitting at a stunning +78.5 observed efficiency margin against its opponents but has only shared the court together for 26 possessions so far this season.
Obviously, Alabama is still working Youngblood back after missing so much time with an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason. The Tuscaloosa native and last season's Co-AAC Player of the Year at South Florida has only played in seven games but is starting to become the player the Tide knew it was getting out of the Transfer Portal.
Youngblood has struggled with consistency with his three-point shot, but he shot 40%+ in three straight seasons before arriving in Tuscaloosa. He's at 29% so far this year, but he did connect on 3-of-six attempts in Alabama's road win over Texas A&M on his way to a season-high 14 points.
Oats' top lineup so far this season has been his starting group that consists of four of the five of his most efficient lineup, subbing Jarin Stevenson for Youngblood. Stevenson's offensive numbers have been brutal, but he has shown his value by winning back-to-back Hard Hats.
Still, as SEC play wears on, I would expect to see the five-man lineup more and more that features Youngblood over Stevenson. Obviously, the numbers are of a small sample size at this point, but on paper it makes sense that it would be Alabama's best lineup and Oats needs to know that for sure and get as many data points as he can in the next couple of weeks to gear up for a push for the SEC crown.