It seems unlikely that Alabama Basketball will survive the last eight games of the SEC regular season without multiple losses. The Crimson Tide has already played the nation's toughest schedule as calculated by ESPN Analytics. Every game but one in the Crimson Tide's last 10 regular season games is against a team currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament.
If two or more losses before the start of the SEC Tournament, Alabama roundball fans can reflect on that not many seasons ago, the Crimson Tide was often an NCAA Tournament bubble team or worse. Before Nate Oats the Crimson Tide made the Big Dance field only twice in the 13 seasons going back to 2007.
Because of Oats Alabama Basketball is a bubble team no more. In just the second season of Nate Oats basketball in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide was an NCAA Tournament 2-seed. Seasons three through five provided a 6-seed, 1-seed, and 4-seed. Currently, the Alabama Crimson Tide is a solid 1-seed. Much work is left on the court, but ESPN's projection gives Alabama the sixth-highest probability (64%) to progress in the Big Dance to the Sweet Sixteen. The ESPN algorithm also gives Alabama the sixth-highest probability to make the Elite Eight, the Final Four, and the National Championship Game.
No amount of late regular season stumbles will change the reality that Nate Oats has built the Alabama Crimson Tide into a perennial hoops powerhouse. There have been disappointments along the way. The 2022 NCAA Tournament, 78-64 loss to Notre Dame was one; so was the 71-64 Sweet Sixteen loss to San Diego State in the 2023 tournament. But last season's run, even with the 14-point loss to UConn should erase past disappointments.
A new and never-before mindset of many Alabama basketball fans is 'Final Four or bust'. Many of us could have never imagined that Nate Oats would take Alabama Basketball this far so fast.
Nate Oats is without question one of the game's best
Recently a couple of ESPN writers picked college basketball's Top 15 coaches at midseason. Their ridiculous exclusion of Nate Oats is why their story is not linked in this post. Worse, nine more coaches were also considered, and again - no Nate Oats. Alabama Crimson Tide fans know better and so do fans of many other teams who would gladly discard their coach for Nate Oats in a flash.