TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Two and a half weeks ago, Alabama was on the verge of a No. 1 ranking, playing in a matchup between college basketball’s top two teams. The last 18 days have been a different story for the Crimson Tide.
No. 7 Alabama’s 99-94 loss to No. 5 Florida on Wednesday marked the Tide’s fourth loss in the last six games. Once heavily in the mix for an SEC regular-season title, Alabama (23-7, 12-5) had to rely on Oklahoma beating Missouri to clinch a first-round bye in next week’s conference tournament. It won’t get any easier before that, as the Tide closes out its regular season at top-ranked Auburn this weekend.
Is it officially time to hit the big crimson panic button in Tuscaloosa? Nate Oats says not quite, but the head coach isn’t pleased with the effort he’s seen from his team recently.
“We knew it was going to be a tough stretch to close,” Oats said, referencing Alabama’s recent run of six ranked opponents. “I thought we’d do a little bit better. I thought we’d at least play with more effort.
“I’m not panicked we’re losing. It’s more concerning how we lost. Getting out-rebounded by 15 and not getting the 50-50 balls. I think Florida had more pop, more energy than us, and that’s concerning to me.”
Florida held a 50-35 advantage on the boards Wednesday night, Alabama’s largest rebounding deficit of the season. The Gators turned those into 19 second-chance points compared to the Tide’s 10, a stat that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
“We’re going to have to challenge some of these guys, see if it was breakdowns,” Oats said. “Some of the rebounds were pretty dumb. Some of them, we just didn’t — we had guys leaking, not getting in the mix. Guys are going to have to determine if they’re going to make some tough plays or not. I don’t think we made too many tough plays tonight.
Alabama once again struggled to close halves against Florida, allowing the Gators to take a 41-40 lead at the break, thanks to a 5-0 run over the final 48 seconds of the period. That comes after Alabama threw away a four-point lead in the final 30 seconds of its 79-76 loss at Tennessee over the weekend.
“Very frustrating, to be honest with you,” Oats said. “We need to do a better job with clock management and just getting stops when we needed to. We felt like we should have been up going into the half, we end up being down. We came back and ended up taking the lead there in the second half, but they just started making all the tough plays there.”
This recent skid isn’t new territory for Alabama. Before making its first run to the Final Four last season, the Tide lost four of its final six games heading into the NCAA tournament. Three of those losses came by 14 points or more, with Alabama averaging a 15.25-point deficit over all four.
This year’s rough patch hasn’t been as severe. Alabama’s worse loss in its current stretch is a 110-98 defeat at Missouri. Meanwhile, the Tide’s deficit over its last four losses is 7.25 points.
“I thought guys quit last year at times,” Oat said when asked to compare the two slides. “I was very frustrated with our effort in those games late. I don’t think that’s the case here. … I thought they continued to fight.”
Alabama will close out its regular season on Saturday when it travels to SEC regular-season champion Auburn (27-3, 15-2) for a 1:30 p.m. CT tipoff. The Tigers started Alabama’s tailspin with a 94-85 victory inside Coleman Coliseum last month.
“I would anticipate us being a lot better Saturday at Auburn,” Oats said. “I don’t think this group’s going to have quit in them. … I think we have a bunch of high-character young men. They’re going to keep fighting.”
