Can Alabama Basketball's Depth Match Up With Illinois' 'Deeply Talented' Roster?

Crimson Tide head basketball coach Nate Oats previews Wednesday's matchup against Illinois at the C.M. Newton Classic.

Alabama forward Jarin Stevenson (15) is introduced during starting lineups against McNeese State at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Monday, Nov 11, 2024. / Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 8 Alabama men's basketball has already suffered a loss early in the most anticipated season in program history––albeit on the road against the reigning national champion runner-ups––but the Crimson Tide is reflecting and moving on to the next game on the schedule.

The next contest will be a neutral site one in Birmingham against No. 25 Illinois in the C.M. Newton Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. CT. on SEC Network.

A big part of what's made the Crimson Tide's season so hype-worthy is due to the program coming off of its first-ever Final Four appearance while also retaining numerous key players and adding a plethora of talented freshmen and incoming transfers to gives Alabama the realistic goal of achieving two more wins for a National Title. This large amount of depth convinced head coach Nate Oats to say it's "the best roster we've had since we've been here" before the season, but the Fighting Illini are also a force to be reckoned with.

"They're good. They're super skilled," Oats said during Tuesday's press conference. "Some of the plays they've made in the real games, not the exhibition games, show you kind of talent they got. Last mock draft I looked at, two of their guards were going in the top-20. So this is a super-talented team, it's a good program. They've got more wins against Big Ten teams than the other teams in the Big Ten over the last five seasons. After this game, we'll see maybe the two best teams in the Big 10 over the last five years."

Illinois' depth is a big reason for their 3-0 start, despite only having two returning players from last year's team, which culminated with a loss to eventual national champion UConn in the Elite Eight. With that in mind, the Fighting Illini match Alabama's renowned depth in the playing time category as both teams have exactly nine players averaging at least 11 minutes so far this season.

"Yeah, this isn't a game where we're going to be talking about getting into the bench by running them," Oats said. "We're obviously not going to slow it down, that's not how we play. It's more like we just got to play at our pace because that's how we play. Not necessarily play to tire them out because they're deep too. We've got depth, they've got depth, but we've got to use our depth accordingly––not be afraid to go into it and make sure we've got fresh guys in all of the time knowing that they're most likely going to have somebody fresh in.

"So it's not 'leave somebody on the floor while going tired against their fresh guys' because they're bringing them fresh. They've got a good roster, they're talented, they're deep, they've got young talent, they've got old talent. They've brought in transfers, kind of like we did, and they brought in super talented young kids too."

This game can very well come down to which team has the fresher legs come clutch time. It's clear that both programs are capable of accomplishing this but only one will come out victorious.