Column: Don't Bury Alabama Basketball Just Yet

The Crimson Tide lost its third straight game, is it time to panic?

This is an opinion column.

Yes, you're reading the record right. As I write this in the dimly-lit Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, after Alabama's 87-74 loss to the Wildcats, the Crimson Tide sits at 6-5 on the season. 

Before you read any further, take a step back, take your hand off the big red panic button, and breathe.

The season isn't over, and Alabama isn't going back to the NIT.

It was hard to not have high expectations heading into this basketball season. After all, Alabama is coming off its second SEC title in three seasons, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, and seemingly reloaded with a highly-ranked transfer portal class. 

But failing to meet early-season expectations doesn't have to mean said season is over. 

It's true that 6-5 isn't what most people had in mind when they envisioned the start of this college basketball season. 

But it can also be true that Alabama isn't dead in the water just yet. 

Now I know, most fans don't want to hear the "moral victory" talk. And that's not what I'm here to give. I'm not here to tell you that Alabama's losses are actually positives because they came against good teams. Rather, they're just not as negative as some people think.

It's true, all five of Alabama's losses are to teams I would consider "good." Two of the five are to teams bordering on "elite." But they are still losses, and losses are never good. 

So what am I here to do? I'm here to tell you the reality of Alabama basketball's situation, and that's the fact that Alabama is an improved basketball team compared to where it was just a few weeks ago. 

After Alabama lost at home to Clemson on Nov. 28, there were major questions about whether this team could even be competitive against the nation's best. Since that loss, the Crimson Tide has proved it can play with just about anyone in all of college basketball. 

The energy and intensity that the team plays with has upped several notches. The blue-collar stuff, as Oats would put it, is becoming more apparent. More guys are diving for loose balls, more players are hustling and cleaning up rebounds. 

If the same Alabama team that played Purdue, Creighton, and Arizona had played against Ohio State and Clemson, there might be two less L's in that loss column.

And that is why Oats creates his non-conference schedule this way. 

Alabama could have played Chicago State, Tennessee Tech, and CSU Bakersfield over the past three games, strolled to a 9-2 record, and probably still be ranked in the top 25. But these games in December aren't entirely about the wins, but rather, they serve as a fact-finding mission. 

Yes, the wins and losses count, but the ultimate goal is playing your best basketball in March, not stockpiling wins in December against nobodies. 

A win in one of these games would have been a stamp on Alabama's resume that it could point to for the rest of the season, but there are still no "bad losses" on this resume. 

Despite Alabama's poor win-loss record, the analytics service KenPom ranks Alabama inside the top-10. The NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET, ranks Alabama inside the top-10 as well, factoring in that the Crimson Tide has zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. 

Games like this early in the season are no-risk, high reward. You're not overly punished for losing them, and you have everything to gain in what you learn about your team and how they grow in them. 

When the NCAA selection committee makes the bracket in March, Alabama isn't going to be punished for having extra Quad 1 losses. In fact, the strength of schedule will help Alabama's case even if it has a subpar record for its potential seed line. 

So, what do Oats and his staff do now? They now have a perfectly clear idea of what it is that needs to be fixed, what needs to be improved upon, and what needs to change as SEC play arrives in just a few weeks. 

Alabama fans, you just watched your football team be buried after a Week 2 loss and a poor showing in Week 3. Now that team is in the College Football Playoff and may very well win a national championship. 

I'm not saying this Alabama basketball team is going to the Final Four. What I am saying, is that this team is clearly better than it was just a few weeks ago, and it has proved over the past three games that it can compete with the nation's elite. 

There are nine new players on this basketball team. It is understandable for things not to click immediately, especially against the schedule this team has played. There are things that need to get better, interior defense, foul trouble, maintaining leads chief among them, but at the very least, they are aware. 

So yes, Alabama is 6-5, and things aren't very fun right now. But don't be surprised if you look up in a couple months and see this team at 11-7, 12-6, maybe even 13-5 in the SEC after taking what they learned from this non-conference gauntlet and putting it all together against lesser competition. 

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