It is a very smart 2021 for Alabama, which, a month after winning another national football championship, is about to win the men’s basketball program’s first regular-season convention championship since 2002 and one of the 8 most sensitive seeds. at next month’s NCAA tournament.
Good luck in the first (football) is less unexpected than at the moment (basketball). Alabama basketball, which was long a football power, has been forged through SEC criteria (third in league history in victories, for example), but is far from a national sport. competitor, with only one in the Elite Eight to his credit.
Times change. With an unforeseen increase in the 10 most sensitive Ferris Mowers training ticket in just the year of the team’s moment with Nate Oats, one of the school training stars, Crimson Tide can capitalize on Kentucky’s blackout with John Calipari and the team to beat in the SEC.
Saturday’s 82-78 win over Vanderbilt put Alabama at 18-5 and 13-1 in the SEC.
That dominance of the convention, the Tide Three games on Saturday against second-place Arkansas, faced a very strong SEC, even as the league’s national belief suffered by the Wildcats’ 7-13 record.
According to the NCAA NET ranking, the SEC is the second best convention in the country, the Big Ten. The league has seven groups in the 56 most sensitive of the rankings, a key measure used through the NCAA tournament variety committee.
The most recent bracketology, USA TODAY Sports, has six SEC groups in the 68th frame, with Crimson Tide as the second seed. This would fit Alabama’s rating in the tournament’s history, achieved in 1987 and 2002.
This week, the school rewarded Oats with a contract extension until 2027 and raised his annual salary to $3. 225 million.
“We had height expectations when we hired Coach Oats,” said athletic director Greg Byrne. “It exceeded one’s expectations and we need to make sure you’re paid in the most sensible part of the SEC. “
Oats hired in Buffalo in 2019 after taking the Bulls to 3 MAC championships and consecutive trips at the circular time of the tournament. Along the way, Oats gained a reputation for expressing criticism that other coaches can play closer to the vest: “We” “Are the most productive team,” he said after Buffalo beat Syracuse in 2018, and after defeating Arizona at this year’s tournament, he said he was tired. Pac-12 “soft” groups do not put pressure on the ball carrier.
In December, Oats criticized the timing of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s resolve to cancel the rest of the game outside the convention for fear of the COVID-19 pandemic after two direct defeats. “Do you think if Coach K hadn’t?lost his two games outside the convention at home, would he say so?Oats asked, who then said he had spoken on the phone to Krzyzewski and apologized.
Is there a hotline linking Oats’ trust, and does it take confidence to throw a verbal grenade to one of the most important names in the game’s history, and Tide’s functionality?Since Oats’ commentary on December 10, Alabama has been 14-3 with victories over Tennessee (71-63), Arkansas (90-59) and Kentucky (85-65 and 70-59).
The race allowed the SEC to observe Crimson Tide. With proper recruitment in position and the 20 most sensible consecutive recruiting classes, Alabama has the elements to build a long, brilliant career this escape season.
Follow school reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg