The Crimson Tide is Limping into the NCAA Tournament

After a quick exit in Nashville, the Crimson Tide is limping into the NCAA tournament. The month of March hasn't been friendly to Alabama at all, and a hasty departure from the Big Dance seems inevitable.

This team is playing its worst basketball of the season at the wrong time of the year, which is beyond frustrating. It's one thing to lose to a good Florida team, but to get destroyed by the Gators in a similar fashion two weeks in a row is inexcusable. Bama's effort on defense is nonexistent, and its once-prolific offense has stagnated.

Maybe I just had too many expectations for this team. Coming into the season, I thought Nate Oats did a masterful job in the transfer portal and putting an entirely new coaching staff together. I was excited about the challenging non-conference schedule and the toughness it would bring to this team before the NCAA Tournament.

Despite huge losses on the road and a lack of defensive effort on multiple occasions this season, there was still an opportunity for the Tide to win the SEC regular season. This team has shown greatness in spurts, but was never able to put it all together consistently and maybe that is what I'm most frustrated about.

Now we wait to see who and in what region the Tide will play on Sunday evening and, sadly, I am probably the least excited I've been about this team all season. This looks like a team that is just going through the motions and is ready for the season to end. The energy and effort of this team outside of Coleman Coliseum has been overwhelmingly absent all season and it would be a welcome surprise if this team has a game to play next Saturday or Sunday.

This Alabama team obviously has the potential to make noise in the tournament, but at this point seeing is believing and the doubt is high.