On Saturday night in College Station, Alabama led 84-80 with 2:15 play. The game's outcome was in doubt when Mark Sears launched a three-pointer that missed. Jarin Stevenson fought hard and won an offensive rebound. At 2:08 Sears tried again from outside the arc and again he missed. LaBaron Philon claimed the rebound and immediately drilled a pass back to Sears in three-point land. On his third try of the possession, Sears made the score 87-80, with 2:02 left in the contest. Perhaps the Aggies did not realize it, but those 13 seconds determined the outcome of the game.
The Aggies scored a few more points, as did Alabama, but the possession when the Alabama team refused to be denied slammed the door on the Aggies. Two missed shots, two rebounds, two passes, a made shot, and an assist intertwined to show how much this Alabama team believes in itself and each other.
It would be easy to chalk up the 13 seconds to luck finding the Alabama Crimson Tide. Luck had little or nothing to do with it. Instead, it was toughness and togetherness. Alabama had shown both before, but not as dramatically as Saturday night.
Nate Oats has his Alabama Basketball team locked into trusting each other. A bevy of talented players make up a team that is still developing. From the start of the season, the defense has improved, but it needs to improve more. According to Ken Pomeroy, Alabama has only the ninth-best defense in the SEC. Fortunately, Pomeroy has the Alabama offense as the nation's second-best (behind Auburn). Alabama is the nation's No. 1 scoring team at 91.1 points per game. Barring any future injuries the Crimson Tide defense will continue to improve all that is needed to be a serious championship contender.
Texas A&M is the nation's best, offensive rebounding team. Alabama is the SEC's second-best, not far behind the Aggies. Alabama got one more offensive rebound than the Aggies on Saturday night.
A small bump is all Alabama Basketball needs
Alabama Basketball is not a stat leader in team three-point shooting accuracy. The Crimson Tide takes more threes than the rest of the SEC and is No. 6 nationally at 31.9 attempts per game. Alabama is 14th in the SEC and No. 254 nationally at making threes (32.9%). Some improvement is needed from outside the arc, but with its tempo, rebounding, and an improving defense, Alabama can prosper while being just middle of the pack in three-point makes. Last season's team was a scorching 37.3% from outside the arc. Two or three percentage points less than last season should be enough.
Tamping down optimism until more games are played is advisable. There is a long way to go. But the 2024-25 Alabama Crimson Tide has the potential for an SEC Championship and another Final Four.