It is fitting that college basketball's No. 1 'roll the dice' coach has his team's next games in Las Vegas. On Monday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide will play Gonzaga. On Wednesday night, UNLV gets a home game against Alabama. Another Las Vegas game, opponent to be determined, will follow.
College basketball's 'mad genius' Nate Oats has given the 2025-26 Crimson Tide college basketball's toughest out-of-conference schedule. Playing St. John's, Purdue, Illinois, Gonzaga, and Arizona in the first five weeks of the season is borderline insanity on one level. On a different level, it might be brilliant.
The Zags, considered a potential NCAA Tournament 1-seed, will be favored against Alabama. Arizona might prove to be the best team in the quintet. Given its early success, Alabama winning one of Gonzaga or Arizona could also make the Tide an early 1-seed contender.
Alabama Crimson Tide and SEC Pecking Order
The first NCAA NET rankings will be released in the first week of December. At that point, power ranking the SEC's basketball teams will make sense. The majority of SEC teams have so far played five games. Alabama and four other teams have played four games. Missouri has played six.
Using a NET Quadrant projection, Warren Nolan shows Alabama and Florida are nearly even atop the SEC. No other SEC hoops team is close to the Crimson Tide and the Gators.
Preseason rankings have a significant impact on early-season computer models until about a dozen games are played. ESPN's BPI has five SEC teams ranked above Alabama, with the Tide ranked No. 17. Alabama fans have no cause for alarm. Combined, the five teams have one Quad 1 win: Vanderbilt over UCF. The Dores' other wins are one Quad 3 and three Quad 4.
All of Tennessee's five wins have come against Quad 4 teams. Florida has one Quad 3 win and two Quad 4 wins. Auburn has one Quad 3 win and three Quad 4 wins. Kentucky's three wins are against Quad 4 teams.
It is too early for any college basketball fan to celebrate anything beyond winning a game. It is not too early to acknowledge that Nate Oats' scheduling philosophy is key to shaping a championship-quality roster. And that will still be true if the Crimson Tide loses to the Zags and Wildcats.