The Extra Point: Can Alabama Basketball Finish the Season Strong?

The next few weeks of games will decide the course of Alabama's season.

It is no secret that Alabama basketball has had a roller coaster ride of a season.

With highs including wins over Gonzaga, Houston, Baylor, and Tennessee, and losses to SEC bottom-dwellers Georgia and Missouri, Alabama has been described by many as the most confusing team in the country.

Coming out of one of the most difficult three-game stretches in the country, Alabama is coming right off the heels of back-to-back losses to Auburn and Kentucky.

On the bright side for Alabama, the fate of the season is still in front of it.

Alabama's remaining schedule consists of only one ranked team as of Feb. 9. There are lots of winnable games left on the schedule, and the majority of the hardest of said games will be inside Coleman Coliseum, where Alabama has only lost two games all season. 

Barring a crushing late-season collapse, Alabama is on track to make the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time since 2006, which is an impressive feat in and of itself. Many bracketologists currently place Alabama around the six-seed line, which is certainly feasible if the Crimson Tide can take care of business.

In other good news for the Crimson Tide, the analytical metrics love what Alabama has done in terms of scheduling. The NET, which the selection committee uses heavily in the NCAA Tournament selection process, ranks Alabama at 24. KenPom, another tool that ranks teams based on an algorithm that combines a variety of metrics, ranks Alabama at 18. 

Ultimately with how highly the metrics feel about Alabama, taking care of business down the stretch is all that separates the Tide from an impressive tournament seed.

Check out the video at the top of the page where BamaCentral's Blake Byler and Joey Blackwell discuss what Alabama basketball can do to turn its season around. 

The Extra Point: Can Alabama Basketball Finish the Season Strong?

USA Today

USA Today

USA Today

USA Today