Alabama has won six of its last seven games in the regular season, winning 10 points on Saturday in Georgia, and for the second time in school history, has won 16 conference victories.
But as the Tide prepares to travel to Nashville for the SEC Tournament later this week, the program’s most promising team has been removed from the best basketball of the season for at least a month in two decades.
Winning what would be the school’s first conference tournament since 1991 is anything but certain.
Two-digit January routes from some of the SEC’s best teams now look like a distant memory for Alabama, who fell 14 points behind Athens on Saturday. The Tide had to pick itself up from another sluggish start to the day away from Coleman Coliseum and recover to beat a team he had easily handled three weeks before.
Coach Nate Oats then told his players in the locker room of Stegeman Coliseum that he needed their effort against Georgia in the second half to transfer to a full game when the Tide reached the quarterfinals of the tournament next Friday. play.
‘We can not afford to come out in Nashville like we did [Saturday], ”Oats said. ‘Proud of our guys, but we need to play better again. More like the second half than the first half going to Nashville. ”
The game will be against the winner of Thursday’s No. 8 and 9 meet between Kentucky and the Mississippi State. Alabama swept both opponents in the home and away series this season, but played some of its worst offensive basketball in its recent SEC victory in Starkville, while Kentucky knocked out South Carolina in a 28-point victory on Saturday.
“Some of the teams that don’t have the best records have a lot of talent and are starting to come together now,” Oats said. “You might see what they were hoping for. Well, this is a dangerous team. Our match on Friday is going to be a tough match. ”
The 11:00 CT discount at Bridgestone Arena will not play according to Alabama’s strengths. It’s 3-3 in games this season starting at 13:00 CT or later, falling especially in deep early holes in Oklahoma and Missouri at 11:00 losses before Saturday’s slow start in Georgia.
Win Friday and the award is a tip-off in the semi-final on Saturday, followed by an afternoon championship match on Sunday. Alabama could also start a dreaded day in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next week.
Alabama is widely projected as a No. 2 seed with a chance to move up to the No. 1 line with several wins in Nashville and assistance from the current top four teams. An early resignation could, however, drop the tide in the eyes of the selection committee before brackets are announced next Sunday night.
“At this point, with what our record is – if we lose on Friday, I’m sure it would hurt us,” Oats said Friday. “If we lost on Saturday, it would probably not help us. If you come on Sunday and you play well and you win, it can of course help us. ‘
Alabama would consider Tennessee as the no. 9 in last year’s SEC tournament, before the game was canceled shortly before the cancellation due to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. In his four seasons previously as Buffalo’s coach, the Oats have won the Mid-American Conference Tournament three times.
“So I’m a fan of them,” Oats said Friday with a smile. “I liked cutting down the nets in Cleveland.”
Oats has selected his last two MAC tournaments as a No. 1, but upset Akron has been selected as a No. 3 to win his first title in 2016. He will return to his role as a hunter this week, knowing that other SEC teams have played better. as of late.
The list is topped the list by Arkansas, second place, which has won 11 SEC games in a row since Alabama crowned it in January.
“We are the No. 1 seed, but we have to play our best basketball on both sides of the ball again,” Oats said. ‘It’s been a while since we’ve done this. Arkansas is currently the hottest team in the league.
“I think there are a lot of teams that can win and win. There are teams going to play on Thursday that have a great chance of winning the entire tournament. ”
With only 13 teams participating due to Auburn’s self-imposed post-season ban, the tournament will begin Wednesday night with a lone match between Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before four games on Thursday.
Mike Rodak is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.