Winning eight straight games doesn't happen by accident, but it also doesn't mean that things are going perfectly, either. Alabama's ability to execute in critical moments has been key, but it has also masked some issues that could have cost them several games during this stretch.
The biggest weakness all year has been on the glass, and that was compounded against Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday night when the Volunteers grabbed more offensive rebounds than the Crimson Tide grabbed defensive. Tennessee's dominance on the glass was the same script that cost Alabama in games against Purdue, Gonzaga, and Florida earlier in the year.
The Crimson Tide, somehow, found a way to beat the Volunteers in spite of it. But that issue - along with another weakness - is at the top of Nate Oats' mind with the calendar flipped to March and the SEC and NCAA Tournaments on the horizon.
"We gotta get the rebounding cleaned up, and we got to figure out a way to start turning some people over ourselves," Nate Oats said on his radio show Monday night. "We don't generate enough turnovers. We're gonna try to be a little more aggressive, play a little harder -- that's not necessarily gambling in the backcourt, giving up layups. But we got to be a little more aggressive on our defensive end to try to turn some people over without fouling."
Nate Oats stresses the urgency of rebounding and forcing turnovers for Alabama
For the season, Alabama allows an offensive rebounding rate of 32.9%, a mark that ranks 302nd in the country. It's a weak point on the roster, with Aiden Sherrell as the only reliable true center amid Noah Williamson's continued struggles.
It is not the only weakness, however. While Alabama's defense is trending up, and certainly deserves a lot of credit for its effort against Tennessee to pull out a 71-69 win on Saturday night, improvement on that end could lie in a greater ability to force turnovers.
Alabama only forces turnovers on 12.3% of opponent possessions. That ranks 364th out of 365 qualifying teams on KenPom. If that number could creep up a couple of percentage points, it could be the difference in the Crimson Tide's defense being good enough later this month to make a potential Final Four run.
The problem has been a lack of discipline when Alabama tries to play aggressively on defense. We've seen it during the end-of-half trapping the Crimson Tide does to try to steal an extra possession. It has often led to wide-open looks by the opponent.
An ultra-aggressive defensive approach against Georgia on Tuesday night will be interesting to see. The Bulldogs play fast and do a pretty solid job of taking care of the basketball. In a high-possession, high-tempo game, if the Crimson Tide can steal an extra couple of possessions, it might make all the difference in a game that is projected to be so close.