Is Alabama the Best Team in College Basketball? All Things CW

Five things that got our attention this week including some eye-opening comments, the early Heisman Trophy odds, and two Crimson Tide players who can improve their draft stock at the Senior Bowl.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 5

It's been a tough, emotional week for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team, which is still in the process of circling the wagons and regrouping following last weekend's tragic shooting involving a former player/teammate. 

In the middle of it, though, was Charles Barkley doing what he does best nowadays, voicing what a lot of people were thinking but not quite ready to say. 

Making an appearance on the show “The Next Round,” the former Auburn standout and NBA star didn't bite his tongue about his schools's biggest rival. 

“Alabama’s the best team in the country, honestly,” Barkley said. “I’ve watched them play probably four times. They are the best team. Houston is right there with them, but they beat Houston.

“Off the top of my head, Alabama’s the best team in the country and that’s painful for me to say.”

“Alabamas the best team in the country, and that’s painful for me to say” @AuburnMBB Legend Charles Barkley@AlabamaMBB @nate_oats pic.twitter.com/q94nIxsMjC

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 18, 2023

Is it? There's a lot of growing statistical evidence in support.

Houston is atop the polls, but Alabama has a head-to-head win, at Houston nonetheless. No. 2 Kansas lost to rival Kansas State, and No. 3 Purdue managed to squeak by Michigan State last week by one point, 64-63, a team the Crimson Tide has also defeated (81-70 at the Phil Knight Invitational). 

Sports Illustrated even noted that since Alabama's Dec. 17 loss to Gonzaga, the Crimson Tide has "been the best team in the sport, per T-Rank."

"They’ve won all seven games they’ve played in that stretch by double figures, including a 40-point drubbing of LSU over the weekend. Plus, their true road win at Houston is arguably the best win of the season by any team."

This leads us to the first of five things of note this week:  

1) March Madness Seeding

On Saturday, when Alabama visits Missouri, we'll be 50 days away from Selection Sunday. The Crimson Tide is 16-2, 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference, and from here on in there's no such thing as an easy game on the schedule. 

Consequently, Alabama's strength of schedule is remarkably good regardless of which metric is used, with some having it at No. 1. 

As for how that might play out for NCAA Tournament seeding, SI’s first projected March Madness field released Wednesday had Alabama the No. 1 seed in the East Regional. 

East Region

No. 1 Alabama* vs. No. 16 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi*
No. 8 NC State vs. No. 9 Indiana
No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Kent State*
No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 UC Irvine*
No. 6 Duke vs. No. 11 Wisconsin
No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 14 Princeton*
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 New Mexico
No. 2 UCLA* vs. No. 15 Eastern Washington*

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi also had Alabama as the top-seeded team in the East, and opening the tournament in nearby Birmingham, in his latest projection revealed Tuesday. On Wednesday, he called the Crimson Tide the No. 2-overall seed in the tournament.

If there's one hiccup to watch it's the way the rest of the SEC has been struggling. With Kentucky, Florida and Texas A&M suddenly on the wrong side of the bubble, the league is in danger of getting just five or six teams into the field. 

It also means there's going to be a lot of desperate teams that Alabama will have to deal with down the stretch.

2) Senior Bowl I

Senior Bowl workouts will begin in Mobile on the last Monday of the month, and there are two former Crimson Tide players who can greatly help themselves with a good week of practices before NFL coaches and officials. 

The first is tackle Tyler Steen, who played on the left side at both Vanderbilt and Alabama after transferring, and had a solid season with the Crimson Tide. 

The second-team All-SEC player (as voted by coaches) had 25 knockdown blocks in 13 games, and developed some strong techniques that can get him to the next level.

Listed as 6-5, 315 pounds it'll be interesting to see if he lines up in spots other than left tackle during workouts for the all-star game. 

3) Senior Bowl II 

Interior linebacker Henry To'oTo'o won us over at the preseason Nick's Kids Luncheon when he not only signed autographs, but gave fist bumps and talked with a lot of smiling children. 

The evaluations on him are kind of all over the place, so we're going to focus on the one posted by NFL.com this week, comparing him to Eric Kendricks of the Minnesota Vikings:

"It would be easy to compare To'oTo'o to one of the Alabama linebackers selected in the top 50 since 2014, but I think his game reminds me the most of Kendricks'. Their instincts are more important to their production than pure speed, yet they both close with explosiveness to wrap up ball-carriers in the backfield, handle coverage responsibilities and blitz effectively. Intensity and assignment knowledge are also prime characteristics for both, which will help To'oTo'o earn a leadership role early in his career."

4) Changing Face of College Sports

There were two things said this week that really got our attention, and demonstrated just how fast college athletics are changing. 

The first was by former Crimson Tide basketball coach Anthony Grant. 

Legal sportsbooks went live in Ohio on Jan. 1, giving local residents widespread access to sports wagering.

However, they took things too far after Dayton's loss to VCU, taking it out on the players on social media. 

“There’s some laws that have recently been enacted, that to me, it could really change the landscape of what college sports is all about," Grant said following Dayton's subsequent game, a win over Davidson. "And when we have people that make it about themselves and attack kids because of their own agenda, it sickens me. They have families. They don’t deserve that. Mental health is real. … 

"I’m just asking all the Flyer fans just to understand that we’re dealing with 18-, 21-, 22-year-olds, and this is about them.”

Anthony Grant delivered an emotional speech in his postgame press conference. Dayton players were the target of hate online from losing gamblers after the game Friday vs. VCU. pic.twitter.com/l0XgKE8Vsa

— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) January 18, 2023

Then there was this by Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen to Collegiate Sports Connect:

"Whenever I talk NIL, the first thing is everybody’s lying, and I remind everybody everybody’s lying. The numbers that you hear are lies. People are leveraging, agents are leveraging coaches, agents are leveraging collectives, so the numbers aren’t real. … I think we’ll start to see some failure to live up to promises in collectives. You’re starting to hear anecdotally some of that right now. I’m a believer that we don't want to overreact because we don’t like what we’re seeing."

5) Early Heisman Watch 

Remember that thing last week about who might be the best player on the Alabama offense next fall? 

SI Sportsbook released the opening odds for the 2023-24 season, and naturally Caleb Williams is the favorite to repeat as the Heisman Trophy winner ahead of North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

The first 16 players listed were quarterbacks, including Alabama's Ty Simpson, who was third on the depth chart last season as a true freshman. 

Only three non-quarterbacks have won the award dating back to 2000, however all played for the Crimson Tide.

2023-24 Heisman Trophy Odds

Caleb Williams (QB) USC +350
Drake Maye (QB) North Carolina +900
Bo Nix (QB), Oregon +1100
Jordan Travis (QB) Florida State +1100
Michael Penix Jr. (QB) Washington +1100
Quinn Evers (QB) Texas +1300
Brock Vandagriff (QB) Georgia +1300
Sam Hartman (QB) Notre Dame +1400
Cade Klubnik (QB) Clemson +1400
Jayden Daniels (QB) LSU +1700
Joe Milton (QB) Tennessee +1700
Drew Allar (QB) Penn State +1700
Ty Simpson (QB) Alabama +2200
Kyle McCord (QB) Ohio State +2200
J.J. McCarthy (QB) Michigan +2200
Dillon Gabriel (QB) Oklahoma +2500
Donovan Edwards (RB) Michigan +3500
Nick Singleton (RB) Penn State +3500
Jeff Sims (QB) Nebraska +4500
Devin Brown (QB) Ohio State +4500
Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR) Ohio State +4500

Suggested Reading: For Jalen Hurts, This Is All Routine

See Also:

Take 1: Initial Hot Board for Alabama Defensive Coordinator

Take 2: Alabama Basketball Slowly Finding a Way Through Shock, Pain

Take 3: Initial Alabama Projections for 2023 NFL Draft

Take 4: Why the NFL's Most Popular Name is a Former Alabama Player