It wasn't a fun week for Alabama basketball. After a close loss on the road to undefeated Vanderbilt without Aiden Sherrell and with Labaron Philon missing the majority of the second-half, the Crimson Tide turned around and dropped a home game to unranked Texas on Saturday to finish the week 0-2 and fall to 1-2 in SEC action.
AP voters punished Alabama accordingly.
In Monday's updated rankings, Alabama fell from No. 13 down to No. 18. It was a five-spot drop for the Crimson Tide, who will now go on the road for two games this week as they look to right the ship.
Alabama falls to No. 18 in the AP Poll
The loss to Vanderbilt could easily be explained away. The Commodores are one of the top teams in the country so far this season, and Alabama only fell by six points despite being without Philon for the final 16+ minutes of action.
But the home loss to Texas was inexcusable. Alabama didn't come to play with the effort and energy required to win a game against an SEC opponent, and the Tide paid for it with a loss that will have long-term repercussions.
Texas is a borderline Top-50 team and easily the worst team to earn a win over Alabama this season to date. The loss could negatively impact Alabama's seed line come March, and just made competing for an SEC Championship that much more of an uphill battle.
Alabama hadn't started 1-2 in SEC play since Oats' first season in charge.
This team is fully capable of digging out of this early hole and responding with a strong finish in conference. But they've got to choose to do that. They've got to choose to give more effort on the defensive end of the floor and on the glass.
If not, then more losses like the one against Texas will follow. And with back-to-back road games this week - Mississippi State on Tuesday, Oklahoma on Saturday, Alabama has to figure things out quickly to avoid a disastrous start.