I was ready to hold my hand up and start chowing down on a crow sandwich. Last week, I boldly proclaimed that Alabama basketball was back as the SEC favorite. The Crimson Tide immediately proceeded to put in its worst performance of the season in a home loss to Ole Miss.
Woof. Like Alabama, I’m still getting used to navigating the nation's toughest schedule. But if you notice, I’m not spitting out feathers just yet.
Just when I was ready to start writing with my tail between my legs, the Tide went into Rupp Arena and recorded its second straight top-10 win on the road over No. 8 Kentucky. All of a sudden, my original proclamation doesn’t seem so silly.
Regardless, snap judgments just aren’t going to fly in this season’s SEC.
You could certainly still argue that No. 4 Alabama should be the SEC favorite. The Tide currently sits just a game behind No. 1 Auburn in the SEC standings and has more talent on its roster than the Tigers. Then again, Auburn didn’t miss a beat without injured Naismith Award frontrunner Johni Broome last week, recording a 20-point win over No. 15 Mississippi State before sneaking past No. 23 Georgia on the road.
And what should we make of No. 21 Ole Miss and Missouri, who are currently tied with the Tide in second place? The Rebels followed up their upset over Alabama with an overtime defeat at Mississippi State. Meanwhile, it could be time to take Mizzou more seriously now that the Tigers have ripped off four straight SEC wins.
Does No. 6 Tennessee have the offense to contend for a conference title, or was the Volunteers' 14-0 start a bit of Rocky Top smoke and mirrors? Meanwhile, No. 5 Florida has two close defeats to its name, and Kentucky went toe-to-toe with Alabama over the weekend.
You could make a solid case for any of those teams. And after last week, I might believe them all.
As far as Alabama’s title hopes are concerned, the Tide can cut into Auburn’s lead atop the conference standings this week with winnable home games against Vanderbilt and LSU. Just be careful not to count your eggs before they hatch. After all, the Commodores are starting to look a lot more like Ole Miss following their 76-75 upset over Tennessee on Saturday.
Nate Oats and company better not take Vandy lightly, or Alabama might once again get its pants pulled down in front of its home crowd Tuesday night. I’m not totally confident about chalking up a Tide win against the Commodores.
Vanderbilt leads the conference with 287 opposing turnovers, two more than Ole Miss. That should send off alarm bells after the Rebels forced the Tide into 21 turnovers during last week’s loss. Then again, Alabama seems to have matured a bit since then.
Following his team’s no-show performance against Ole Miss on Blue Collar night, Oats called out his veteran players for their lack of effort. Grant Nelson and Mark Sears responded with a combined 49 points against Kentucky, leading the way in a gritty team effort.
That production wasn’t just the product of a hot night on the court. After making just 3 of 7 free throws against Ole Miss, Nelson rooted himself to the line over the last few days. According to Oats, the graduate forward hit 90 of 100 free throws last Thursday before going 91 of 100 the following day. That led to him nailing 9 of 10 shots from the stipe against Kentucky.
Sears also lived in the gym leading up to the trip to Rupp. While his 6 of 17 shooting from the floor against the Wildcats wasn’t anything to write home about, he managed nine assists to just one turnover and brought the blue-collar effort on defense that had been lacking the week before.
What does that mean for Tuesday night’s clash against a pesky Vanderbilt team? We’ll just have to wait and see.
“I think that loss against Ole Miss got us focused,” Oats said. “This was a completely different team than the one that played Ole Miss. If we learned the lessons that we needed to in that loss Tuesday and we don’t forget them for the remainder of the year, it might be the best thing to happen to us.”
“We’ve just got to make sure this is not a one-game deal,” he continued. ‘We’ve got to continue to do the things that we’ve done since Tuesday night.”
After braving three straight road games, Alabama’s run figures to be a bit more manageable over the next month — at least on paper. Following its home games against Vanderbilt and LSU this week, the Tide will be tested with a trip to Mississippi State at the end of the month. From there, it will host a quality Georgia team before hitting the road for back-to-back matchups at Texas and Arkansas, which have already combined for nine SEC losses.
It isn’t inconceivable to think Alabama could run the table over that stretch. Doing so would move the Tide to 21-3 (10-1) and set up a possible No. 1 vs. No. 2 showing against Auburn inside Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 15.
That’s an exciting prospect. But for now, I’m taking a wait-and-see approach.
Drink of the week — Killer Whale
You might have a hard time ordering this week’s drink at your local bar. However, after Oats mentioned a concept from one of my favorite teams, I had to scour the internet for a matching cocktail.
Following Alabama’s win at Kentucky, Oats discussed how his team hunted for mismatches similar to how orcas hunt seals in a pack. It’s an analogy he took from Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who used it on his way to an NBA title last season.
According to a recipe I dug up online, the Killer Whale cocktail is made up of ¾ of an ounce of vodka, ¾ of an ounce of white rum, ½ an ounce of Chambord, ½ an ounce of Triple Sec, ½ an ounce of cranberry juice and half an ounce of orange juice. From there, you shake the ingredients over ice and strain into a cocktail glass with ice before topping it off with 7Up.
I have no idea how all that tastes, but if it's anything like Alabama’s performance against Kentucky over the weekend, it should have you flying high.
(Commercial break: My drink of the week section is now sponsored by my friends at Session Cocktails in Tuscaloosa. Session has been a mainstay in Tuscaloosa’s cocktail scene since 2019 and offers some of the tastiest drinks in town. Stop by and tell them I said hi!)
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