Are Alabama Basketball’s Defensive Issues Solely Due to the Absence of Nimari Burnett?

The Crimson Tide has given up 188 points in its last two games. Is that the new normal without its top perimeter defender?

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One hundred and eight-eight points.

That’s what Memphis and Gonzaga scored on Alabama collectively during the Crimson Tide’s two previous games, resulting in scores of 91-88, and 100-90, respectively. 

Head coach Nate Oats promised the defense was going to be much improved in 2022-23. It was a disaster last season — Alabama finished 92nd in KenPom in defensive efficiency in 2021-22. 

Through the first month of the season, Oats was able to back up his words. The Crimson Tide looked like a problem to deal with on the defensive end for opposing teams. The sheer length and athleticism were tormenting Alabama’s opponents.

That was until Dec. 13, when prior to the Crimson Tide’s game against Memphis, the school announced that Nimari Burnett would be out indefinitely with a left wrist injury. Later that night, Oats said that the injury would sideline the Texas Tech transfer for six to eight weeks.

That’s a long time to be without your top perimeter defender. Burnett had been putting opposing teams’ lead guards in the torture chamber. Without him, who would step up?

Unfortunately for Alabama, one of the nation’s top guards came into Coleman Coliseum that very night and exposed that problem immediately. The Tigers’ Kendric Davis lit up the Crimson Tide for 30 points and five assists. Memphis doesn’t sport the best offense in the country either — the Tigers are currently ranked No. 43 in the country in offensive efficiency. If not for 21 second half points from Brandon Miller, Alabama very well could have lost that game. Instead, the Crimson Tide left the arena happy with its victory — and assumed everything would be fine.

Until it wasn’t.

You never want to give up 100 points in a college basketball game. Alabama got away with it one time already, defeating North Carolina 103-101 in four overtimes on Nov. 27. But that was in 60 minutes of game action — another full half than usual. Gonzaga put up triple digits in regular time in the C.M. Newton Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Yet another all-time performance from the Crimson Tide’s true freshman was overshadowed by glaring defensive holes. Miller scored a career-high 36 points in an Alabama loss full of fireworks in Birmingham.

If you think the defense struggled against Memphis, Saturday was a whole new level of bad. The Bulldogs traveled over 2,000 miles and didn’t show any jet lag, shooting over 57 percent from the field and an efficient 7-for-17 from deep. Drew Timme, one of the nation’s finest, got anything he wanted on the Crimson Tide — scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

On Thursday, Alabama said that it had a plan to defend Timme. Whatever it was didn’t pan out.

Now, Burnett wouldn’t have guarded Timme, so what’s the point? Well the majority of the issues started at the top of the key. Gonzaga utilized the pick-and-roll heavily, and the Crimson Tide never really found an answer to defending it. Over and over, the Bulldogs would use Timme in a high screen and roll, and if he wasn’t wide open — a floater for the ball handler would be. Gonzaga’s top guards — Nolan Hickman, Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther — combined for 35 points.

Something was always open. And because of that, Alabama left the Birmingham crowd disappointed — even after Miller did what he did. And what he did was sensational.

So, the question now is — were the last two games just a situation where two of the country’s top players had career games? Or is this going to be a lasting, ailing problem?

If the Crimson Tide is going to be without Burnett for almost two months, something is going to have to change — and fast. SEC play begins on Dec. 28 with a trip to Starkville to take on the 17th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.

“It definitely hurt us not having [Burnett], but we’re not gonna have him for a while, so we’ve got to figure it out,” Oats said.

First, Alabama will have a chance to get things straightened out against Jackson State (1-10) — the 281st-ranked offensive team in college basketball.

Tipoff between the Crimson Tide and Tigers at Coleman Coliseum is set for Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.

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