Many Alabama basketball fans, who tuned in to Wednesday night's game were stunned. How could a player on The Summit League's 7th-best team (out of nine teams) light up the Alabama Crimson Tide with 40 points?
Treysen Eaglestaff was the player. He came close to leading the North Dakota Fighting Hawks to an upset of Alabama. The Crimson Tide prevailed 97-90, but at no point in the game did it appear the Crimson Tide had a defender who could guard Eaglestaff. The 6'6" junior guard averaged 14.4 points per game last season. After his offensive explosion against Bama, his 2024-25 scoring average is 20.2 points.
Alabama tried to defend him but failed far more times than it succeeded. How good are the Fighting Hawks.? After the loss to Alabama, North Dakota has a 4-9 record. In the NCAA NET rankings, the record is 3-9, with a win over Dickenson State being ignored by the NCAA calculation. After playing Alabama tough, North Dakota moved from No. 313 in the NET Rankings to No. 289.
The most common response from Alabama basketball fans about the game is the Crimson Tide will be in serious trouble in SEC games if it repeats the defense played in North Dakota. Nate Oats does not disagree.
Deciding in December how good a basketball team will or will not be in March is an overreaction. Credible computer models project the Crimson Tide's SEC record to be as good as 14-4, or as low as 10-8. The SEC appears to have 12 or more NCAA Tournament contenders. Much will be learned about Alabama by mid-January. The Crimson Tide travels to South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Kentucky in a 10-day period that ends in Lexington on Jan. 18. In March, Alabama's last three SEC regular season games will be pivotal. The Tide finishes with Tennessee in Knoxville, Florida at home and Auburn in Auburn. Those three teams are currently a combined 32-1.
Instead of stressing about the North Dakota game, Alabama fans can remember that Nate Oats has his deepest talent ever, despite the loss of Latrell Wrightsell. Individual and team defense must improve. So does the Tide's three-point shooting. Nate Oats has a couple more games to figure out situational rotations that work. Oats might also need to consider not being overly dependent on Mark Sears. Alabama must be prepared for games when opponents choose to clamp down on Sears, forcing other Alabama players to deliver points.
No SEC team Alabama Basketball cannot beat
One more thing can be considered. Alabama has tremendous potential. Starting with Oklahoma in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 4 and through Auburn in Auburn on Mar. 8 - there is no team on the schedule the Crimson Tide cannot beat.