Alabama sits at 11-2 and is ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll heading into the start of SEC play on Saturday with the Oklahoma Sooners visiting Tuscaloosa to battle the Crimson Tide.
In spite of the high ranking and a great record considering the difficult non-conference schedule Alabama faced, it's also very obvious to Nate Oats and Tide basketball fans that there is plenty to improve upon if Alabama wants to seriously contend for an SEC Championship and reach the lofty goals it came into the season with.
The biggest thing that held Alabama back in the regular season a year ago was defense. The Tide played better in the postseason and that helped propel it to the program's first ever Final Four, but it still finished outside the Top-100 in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
While the defense has improved with Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi anchoring the middle of the defense, it still isn't quite where it needs to be. Heading into SEC play, Alabama ranks No. 46 in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric.
“Our defense isn’t where it needs to be," said Oats. "I think guys taking some individual pride in just their defense and keeping guys out of the lane. I think our rim protection could stand to get a little bit better still. We need Cliff and Grant and Aiden to do a better job there.”
Alabama's perimeter defense has been pretty good; it is holding opponents to under 30% from three-point range. But opponents are shooting just under 47% on two-pointers. Omoruyi isn't as comfortable playing drop coverage like Charles Bediako did for Alabama two years ago when the Crimson Tide had a Top-5 defense in the country. The drop coverage and Bediako's length forced opponents into a lot of contested mid-range jumpers.
Ranking 46th in defensive efficiency isn't bad; it's actually a significant improvement from where Alabama was last season. But it needs to continue to trend upward and find consistency in order for the Crimson Tide to be serious national title contenders.
Offensively, Alabama currently ranks No. 4 per KenPom's offensive efficiency metric. That's incredible, considering how poorly Alabama has shot this season from three. Alabama ranks 252nd in the country in connecting on 31.7% of its three-point attempts.
Alabama is No. 4 despite the poor three-point shooting because of how ruthlessly efficient the team has been on two-pointers. Alabama leads the nation in shooting 63.1% from two. Considering Alabama rarely shoots a mid-range shot, the majority of that damage has been done at the rim, where it is converting a high percentage.
But if Alabama is going to reach the ceiling it has as an offensive unit, it has to shoot better from downtown. Oats knows it, and the staff is working tirelessly to get the team's shooting to improve.
“Our 3-point percentage is the biggest thing that jumps out. We’ve gotta find better threes. We’ve gotta the right guys taking more of the threes.”
Alabama needs to find more looks for Houston Mallette, who was one of the best three-point shooters in the country at Pepperdine a year ago. Improvement from Mark Sears will help a lot there, too. After a brutal showing early in the season, Sears is up to 34% from three now. Aden Holloway has improved to 37% after shooting just 30% a year ago at Auburn. Ensuring Holloway is taking the right threes is important; he's much better off the catch-and-shoot from deep than he is off the bounce. Playing him off the ball next to Sears and freshman guard Labaron Philon has been a key change for him.
USF transfer Chris Youngblood is a proven collegiate shooter who is still working himself into shape. If he can shoot near where he was last year in increased minutes, then Alabama will shoot better as a team, too.
The tune-up part of the regular season is over. SEC play will be a grind with no easy games on the schedule from here. If Alabama wants to be as good as they have the ability to be, then improvement on defense and in making threes is vital.