Creighton can reveal a key Alabama Basketball strength or weakness

Saturday night's Alabama Basketball game against the Creighton Bluejays could indicate whether the Crimson Tide is a true championship contender this season. Does Alabama have the rim protection it needs to win against one of the nation's best big men? For Creighton, the big man is 7'1" Ryan Kalkbrenner.

In last season's Alabama loss to Creighton, Kalkbrenner injured an ankle in the first half and played only 19 minutes. The Bluejays won anyway, mostly because the Crimson Tide was 4-for-22 from outside the arc. A gimpy Kalkbrenner was also a problem in his limited minutes. He scored 18 points in the second half, fouling out Nick Pringle and Mo Wague.

Alabama kept the game close because of only four turnovers and points in the paint. But when Kalkbrenner was in the game, the points in the paint were hard to come by.

Alabama's great run last season was amazing because the Crimson Tide had a serious weakness in rim protection. The addition of Cliff Omoruyi was Nate Oats' response. Omoruyi has played well since his transfer from Rutgers. He is a physical force on the inside, but Oats has been clear that Alabama needs more from Omoruyi. "I think he’s been good, trending towards a lot better than good, but we’ve got room to improve still there." Omoruyi is a hard worker, but along with foul trouble, in a different defensive scheme for him, missed assignments have been a problem.

Oats also looks to Grant Nelson, Mo Dioubate, Jarin Stevenson, and Aiden Sherrell for inside defense. Dioubate has been outstanding but expecting him to be effective while giving up six inches on a true big man is a big ask. Sherrell is still learning to play at the college level. Nelson and Stevenson don't have the bodies needed to lean on 270 lb. (and larger) big men.

Alabama Basketball and championship-level rim protection

How Alabama handles Ryan Kalkbrenner will indicate if the Crimson Tide is a legitimate national championship contender.

The Bluejays are 7-3 and on a three-game winning streak, including a 13-point victory over Kansas. They lack some scoring firepower from last season but are a sound defensive team. Alabama is the better team but handling Kalkbrenner will be a true challenge.