Storylines to Watch for No. 6 Alabama Basketball in 2021 SEC Tournament
When the University of Alabama men's basketball team tips off its quarterfinal game on Friday morning of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Bridgestone Arena, it will be a full year since the sports world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Crimson Tide was the 9-seed at 16-15 overall and 8-10 in league play then, and gearing up to play Tennessee in Nashville just moments before the event was canceled in 2020.
But how a year changes things.
In his second year at the helm, coach Nate Oats has delivered the first SEC regular-season conference title in 19 years and this year's Crimson Tide (21-6, 16-2 SEC) team tied the school record for most SEC wins in a season at 16.
Senior wing Herbert Jones was named the league's Player and Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, while senior guard John Petty Jr. earned All-SEC First-Team honors. Guard Jaden Shackelford found himself on the All-SEC Second-Team and guard Josh Primo was named one of the SEC's best freshman.
However, how a team's legacy can largely be determined by what happens during the month of March.
With Alabama all but locked into a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, here are some key storylines to watch related to the Crimson Tide as the SEC tournament begins on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. (CT) when Texas A&M and Vanderbilt square off:
Can Alabama avoid an ugly start?
11 a.m. tip-off times haven't been good for the Crimson Tide this season. Oats and company are 1-2 in those contests with the one win coming on the road at Auburn, 94-90. The two losses also came on the road to Oklahoma and Missouri.
"We've gotta figure out how to start better," Oats said on his radio show Monday night. "We've got the early-morning tip Friday, so we're gonna have to figure that out because we haven't been great early. Looking for all kinds of suggestions on that."
In five of Alabama's last six games away from Coleman Coliseum, the No. 6-ranked Crimson Tide has trailed by 10 or more points in the first half, only pulling out two wins in those situations.
Opening-round opponent still in the air
Alabama won't know its opponent until Kentucky and Mississippi State play on Thursday at 11 a.m. (CT) so preparation has been somewhat challenging for the tournament's No. 1 seed.
"It's hard because we don't know exactly who we're playing," Oats said. "Do you wanna do a full Kentucky scout, a full Mississippi State scout? We're leaning a little more towards Kentucky just for the pure fact that we haven't played them for a while. We just played Mississippi State."
The Crimson Tide has swept the season series with both teams but hasn't played the Wildcats since Jan. 26. It clinched the conference regular season title in Starkville with a 64-59 win on Feb. 27, just two weeks ago.
If Kentucky and Alabama do end up meeting in the quarterfinals, the Crimson Tide will be looking to end an 11-game losing streak to the Wildcats in this setting. The last time Alabama defeated Kentucky in the SEC tournament was in 1983 when the 9th-seeded Crimson Tide took down No. 1 Kentucky, 69-64.
While this is Oats' first conference tournament in the SEC, the Crimson Tide has won its opening game in the event four years in a row, dating back to the 2014-2015 season. So recent history is on Alabama's side.
Who will be the Crimson Tide's go-to guy in March?
Then-freshman guard Collin Sexton and Petty were Alabama's go-to guys the last time it made a run in March, knocking off the Aggies, then Auburn in St. Louis during the 2018 SEC Tournament before beating Virginia Tech and falling to the eventual national champion Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament that season.
Who will rise to the occasion this time around?
Petty is now a more seasoned player and Jones is healthier and having the best offensive season of his career. Both are averaging 12.8 and 10.9 points, respectively.
Sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly could also be a X-factor off the bench, as he has scored in double figures in nine straight games and is averaging 12.3 points. In conference play, he is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 46.7 percent from the field.
Grad transfer forward Jordan Bruner could ultimately prove to be the difference maker, too. He has battled surgeries on both of his knees this season, Oats revealed after the team's 89-79 win over Georgia last weekend. Alabama has proven to be at its best defensively with him healthy.
Could it be the Crimson Tide's leading scorer in Shackelford?
He has found his groove lately, averaging 18.5 points in his last two outings while shooting 46.6 percent from beyond the arc.
