Alabama Crimson Tide
Southeastern Conference (21-11, 9-7)
What a start to the year for Alabama. They began the season ranked in most polls, and started off winning their first seven games. They hit a snag and then lost three of their next four to bounce them out of the “elite SEC teams” talk. This is one of the streakier teams in the country. They win a handful and then lose a handful. They had a few players suspended near the end of the season, which threw them off balance. Going into the postseason, they have some of those players back. At least they know what they are working with moving forward. Perhaps they can find some balance with a solidified roster.
Big Wins: 11/18 vs Wichita State (70-60), 11/20 vs Purdue (65-56), 11/27 VCU (72-64)
Bad Losses: 12/7 at Dayton (62-74), 1/25 at South Carolina (54-56), 2/11 at LSU (58-67)
Coach: Anthony Grant (3 years at Alabama)
Why They Can Surprise:
There are two reasons Alabama can advance in a tournament: defense and JaMychal Green. The Tide is one of the best teams in the country at defending the three. Their opponents only shoot 27.8% from behind the arc. They are also very good at blocking shots with nearly five per game. They aren’t a particularly tall team, though they do have a pair of 7-footers on their roster. Their defenders have a nose for the basketball and monitor the middle well. JaMychal Green, who has not started every game for Anthony Grant, is the team’s most valuable player. He is third on the team in minutes and has the highest scoring average on the team (14.0), while shooting nearly 55% from the field. He also leads the team in rebounding. He is vital to their operation.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Despite Green’s production, this is one of the worst scoring teams in the country. They only average 65.1 points per game, which is not enough against big time opponents in the tournament. Couple that with poor 3-point shooting, and this is a team that can’t afford to dig a hole for itself. They tend to only make four three-pointers per game, which is one of the worst totals per game in the nation. The other problem for the Tide is that Tony Mitchell will remain suspended for the rest of the season. Behind Green, he was their most productive player. It becomes a one-man show in Tuscaloosa, and that is a lot to ask of any player in college basketball.
Probable Starters:
Trevor Releford, Sophomore, Guard, 11.9 ppg, 2.7 apg, 2.0 spg
Trevor Lacey, Freshman, Guard, 7.1 ppg, 1.8 apg
Levi Randolph, Freshman, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 1.7 apg, 3.9 rpg
JaMychal Green, Senior, Forward, 14.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Nick Jacobs, Freshman, Forward, 6.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Andrew Steele, Junior, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 3.9 rpg
Rodney Cooper, Freshman, Guard, 5.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 65.1 (236th in nation, 9th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.9 (9, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.9 (109, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.7 (12, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.2 (327, 12)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: N/A
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.8 (106, 2)
Rebound Margin: 2.5 (91, 6)
Assists Per Game: 12.4 (203, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.9 (115, 6)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Alabama 2001 NIT First Round win over Coastal Carolina
Alabama 2011 NIT Second Round win over New Mexico
Alabama 2011 NIT Quarterfinal win over Miami
Alabama 2011 NIT Semifinal win over Colorado
Alabama 2011 NIT Final loss to Wichita State
Alabama 2007 NIT First Round loss to Massachusetts
Alabama 2006 NCAA Round of 64 win over Marquette
Alabama 2006 NCAA Round of 32 loss to UCLA
Alabama 2005 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Milwaukee
Alabama 2004 NCAA Round of 64 win over Southern Illinois
Alabama 2004 NCAA Round of 32 win over Stanford
Alabama 2004 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Syracuse
Alabama 2004 NCAA Regional Final loss to Connecticut
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
