Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball

Championships.

Titles.

These are accomplishments that mark success no matter how small they are, which is especially important when you are trying to re-build program.

Alabama basketball has an opportunity to capture a championship in only its fifth game of the season.

Yes, it's just the Puerto Rico Tip-off, but when you want to get where many other programs are you enter a tournament to win it and that's exactly the position Anthony Grant and company are in.

It started Thursday night with a dominating performance against Maryland.

Alabama defeated the Terrapins 62-42 with their strong defense, holding the Terps under 27 percent from the field.

The Tide continued things Friday evening by avenging their NIT loss to Wichita State and defeating the Shockers 70-60.

The shining star in this tournament has been Tony Mitchell. He's averaging 21.5 points in the first two games and really took over against Maryland, while JaMychal Green spent the majority of that contest on the bench due to foul trouble.

Ultimately it doesn't matter who is getting the points for Alabama, as the Tide come with relentless defensive effort no matter who has the hot hand scoring.

Their opponent in Sunday's Final? Purdue.

A team that has scored 91 and 85 points in their wins over Iona and Temple.

So what will give? Alabama's defense or the Boilermaker's potent scoring attack? Whoever it is walks away with some early season hardware and nice step up in this very young college basketball season.

Paradise Jam.

It was anything but Paradise for Anthony Grant and the Crimson Tide as they fell flat on their face in last year's early-season tournament.

Alabama carried those three losses with them the entire season as some sort of mark that not even a 19-0 home record and a SEC West division title could remove.

Seton Hall, Iowa and then the tropical stinker, a loss to Saint Peter's in the seventh-place game.

Those losses and especially the third, plagued Alabama as the NCAA Tournament selection came around.

One never knows exactly how an early-season win or loss will truly effect a postseason resume, but no matter what, a loss is never good.

This time around, the Crimson Tide travel to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off with visions of keeping pace with the nice 2-0 start.

First on the schedule is ACC traditional power Maryland. 

New head coach Mark Turgeon, taking over for the retired Gary Williams, got the Terrapins of to a winning start with a 71-62 win over UNC Wilmington.

Maryland is a bit a of a new face all around as four of the Terrapins top five scorers are gone this season. I've seen this team picked to finish as low as 10th in the ACC.

It's a game Alabama could and should win.

In the second, the Tide will face either Colorado or Wichita State, two teams Alabama faced in last season's NIT. Alabama defeated Colorado in the semifinal then lost to Wichita State in the championship game.

First-year Pac-12 team Colorado, like Alabama, was on the NCAA bubble last season and again, like Alabama, were snubbed. The Buffaloes face the same dilemma that Maryland does in that four of their top scorers are gone. They appear to have some talent, but are raw unlike last season's squad.

Wichita State set a school record with 29 wins last year and have a solid returning cast that includes three starters.

The other side of the bracket includes Temple, Purdue, Iona and Western Michigan as potential third-game opponents for Alabama.

The Crimson Tide are capable of winning this tournament, but in the very least should take two games here.

Alabama has looked solid in their first two games, better in the second against a potential mid-major NCAA team in Oakland.

One area of concern is a hyper-extended elbow injury sustained against Oakland. Green has been practicing with the team and is considered day-to-day.

Green is a piece of this team that Alabama can not afford to lose. This may be an early-season tournament, but you never know how these games now will affect a team's chances of playing in a postseason tournament.

On Friday the Alabama men’s basketball team opened 2011 with a 64-44 win over North Florida.

It was a bit of a sluggish win, offensively speaking, but defensively Alabama has picked up right where they left off last season.

The Crimson Tide held UNF to 23.2 percent shooting, extending their home winning streak to 21 games, making it the sixth longest in the nation.

Alabama will need that defensive intensity when Oakland comes to town tonight.

Who is Oakland, you ask?

Well, for starters, they are located in Michigan and not California.

Second of all, the Golden Grizzlies are coming off back-to-back Summit League titles and NCAA tournament berths.

Oakland also fields one of the best point guards in the country in Reggie Hamilton. Hamilton averaged 17.6 points and 5.3 assists a game last season.

He will be paired with sharp-shooting guard Travis Bader. Bader, a sophomore, was ninth in the nation last season in three-point field goal percentage, draining 94 threes.

That tandem should push the Crimson Tide defensive effort, which has been the backbone of the program under Anthony Grant.

Offensively Alabama will continue to rely on veterans JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell. Green led the Tide, scoring with 18 against UNF along with Mitchell’s eighth career double-double.

They’ll need that production as Alabama brings along young talent in Levi Randolph, Trevor Lacy and Rodney Cooper.

These young players can shoot the ball, but finding their way in their first season is going to take some time. On the bright side, playing at home and having both that reliance and a strong defense are a plus.

Speaking of home, Alabama had an announced crowd of 11,662 for the opener against North Florida. That type of crowd is rare for the Tide during the height of football season.

Coleman Coliseum was a rocking joint last season as Alabama went 19-0 at home, and the buzz this season is that the crowds will be even better and more consistent.

The Crimson Tide will need it to get off to a good start, which is key, especially after the early-season disasters of last year.

For every team in every sport, success is what you strive for.

Success is what Alabama basketball tasted last season. But, with that success, comes the expectations of the season that lies ahead.

Alabama went 19-0 at home a year ago and won the SEC West. The Tide was snubbed by the NCAA tournament, but they channeled that rage into a run to the NIT final, where they lost to a fine Wichita State team.

Now, head coach Anthony Grant has Alabama ready to pounce.

This edition of Tide basketball is starting out ranked 17th in the nation in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll and is picked to finish fourth in the SEC by the media.

Keep in mind that there are no divisions in the SEC this season. Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida are ahead of the Tide, in that order.

For the first time in a long time, there is a definite buzz around the Alabama basketball program. You saw the surge in attendance last season, as Alabama made an improbable run after a disastrous start to the season.

Alabama will have chances early to make its mark with an early-season tournament in Puerto Rico against Maryland and key home games against the likes of Georgetown and Oklahoma State.

The nucleus of last year's team is back, led by preseason first-team All-SEC selection JaMychal Green, dynamic point guard Trevor Releford and the high-flying Tony Mitchell.

No matter who the players are, the one constant under Anthony Grant has been the work ethic of his team.

The Tide gets after opponents defensively and will make any team they face earn a victory.

The key to making Alabama a more complete threat will be the development of its perimeter game. The Tide shot an abysmal 29 percent from behind the three point arc last season.

While one hopes Mitchell and Releford have improved their outside shooting game, help could be on the way in the likes of freshman guard Trevor Lacey.

Lacey, a huge recruiting win for Anthony Grant, was rated five stars by Rivals. The sharp-shooting guard from Huntsville, AL should help the Tide stretch the floor this season.

While the Alabama nation focuses on the Crimson Tide football team and their epic clash with LSU, keep an eye open for this Alabama basketball squad.

It should be another exciting season in Coleman Coliseum.

After leaving the Georgia Dome today, we clearly saw who the two best teams in the conference are—when each kicks it into another gear.  Today, both Florida and Kentucky showed why they are serious Final Four contenders. 

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt and Tennessee are sizing up their Dance shoes for a long waltz; there are two bachelors that are still trying to find a ticket. 

The odd thing is, I thought yesterday we settled this; but apparently, we haven’t.  Let’s run through the resumes of Alabama and Georgia.  All stats are using the CBSSports RPI.

Alabama (21-11, 13-5) SEC Western Division Champion

RPI: 73

Record vs. RPI Top 50: 4-4

W: Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia (twice)

L: Kentucky, Florida, Purdue, Vanderbilt

Bad Losses Outside of Top 100: Four

Seton Hall, Arkansas, Providence, Iowa

Georgia (21-12, 10-8)

RPI: 46

Record vs. RPI Top 50: 3-9

W: Kentucky, UAB, Tennessee

L: Notre Dame, Florida (twice), Kentucky, Vanderbilt (twice), Xavier, Temple, Tennessee

Bad Losses Outside of Top 100: Zero

Looking at these resumes, you would question why we are having this discussion, but I believe that the committee will take into account the deeper meaning of the resumes.  First off, Georgia has a better RPI, and no bad losses, but had many more opportunities that weren't taken advantage of.

Conversely, Alabama has some ugly losses, but it had fewer opportunities and took advantage of those it had.  I realize that going .500 isn’t a "wow" factor, but it is better than most bubble teams, and it certainly looks better than Georgia’s 3-9.  Plus, Alabama beat Georgia twice this season, which bodes well for the Tide.

Now let’s look at the teams Joe Lunardi has in front of both of them.  Virginia Tech, Colorado, USC and Penn State.  I’m going to go ahead and say there isn’t an argument against Colorado and Penn State—both of those teams have done enough in their respective tournaments to earn at-large berths.  I’m mainly looking at the Hokies and Trojans; let’s look at their resumes:

USC (19-14, 10-8)

RPI: 67

Record vs. RPI Top 50: 5-5

W: Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, UCLA, Washington

L:  Kansas, Arizona (twice), UCLA, Washington

Bad Losses Outside of Top 100: Six

Rider, Oregon (twice), TCU, Oregon St., Bradley

Virginia Tech

RPI: 61

Record vs. RPI Top 50: 2-5

W: Duke, Penn State

L: North Carolina, Purdue, Kansas St., UNLV, Duke

Bad Losses Outside of Top 100: Three

Virginia (twice), Georgia Tech

After looking at these resumes, I can’t see why Virginia Tech is in.  No offense to the Hokies, but Alabama, Georgia and USC have more quality wins than you, so you are out.  I put Georgia in because although they didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities they had—they didn’t have a bad loss.  The Bulldogs should be rewarded for that.  

Now it is between Alabama and USC.  I put Alabama in, simply because the Tide beat Georgia twice and don’t have as many (or as ugly) losses as USC does.  USC has three losses outside of the Top 200; Alabama has none.  

I know that I’m an SEC homer, and Alabama alum, but you can’t argue with the numbers.  If that is what everyone is punishing Alabama for, the prognosticators need to look at the numbers behind the numbers.  Behind the curtain, Alabama and Georgia look better than the rest waiting for their ticket to March Madness.  RPI is a big thing, but it isn’t the only thing.

I must confess, I do not have a PhD in bracketology.

However, looking at Alabama's NCAA tournament resume, they do not look deserving to me.

Proponents for placing the Crimson Tide in the Big Dance keep pointing to their SEC West regular season title.

At first blush, that may sound convincing when you think of finishing first place in a division that includes Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU, but this is not your father's SEC West.

Here is a little bit of bracket-analogy. Start with the RPI's of the teams in the SEC West:

• Alabama: 79
• Ole Miss: 81
• Mississippi State: 112
• Arkansas: 120
• LSU: 219
• Auburn: 254

Now, let's bracket the team immediately in front of and in back of those teams, and make an analogy:

• Nebraska
• Long Island
• Bucknell
• St. Bonaventure
• Northern Colorado
• Utah
• Boise State
• Mercer
• Georgia State
• Fordham
• Bryant

It can be said that you are judged by the company you keep. These teams are the company the SEC West keeps this year.

Take an honest look at those teams. Do you really think the winner of that league is deserving of an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament? 

I didn't think so. What say you?

The Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team may or may not make the NCAA Tournament or share the SEC regular season title, but with the Tide's 65-57 victory over Georgia, the team can consider itself successful regardless. 

In a game where success is normally defined by a team's NCAA tournament showing, Alabama finds itself uniquely positioned as a team that might claim success without being invited. But Alabama's rise from mediocrity to a 12-4 SEC record has been nothing short of astounding. Just as important, the Tide's satisfying run from January through the end of the conference season bodes well for its future under second-year coach Anthony Grant. 

Alabama sputtered to a 5-6 start that included one-sided losses to every recognizable team the Tide played (not to mention a one-point loss to woeful St. Peter's). To makes things worse, the team's best player, JaMychal Green, was suspended. Eleven games into what seemed like yet another lost season, few would have expected Alabama would suddenly find its identity and coast through the SEC in route to a 20-10 record.

While a skeptic might argue the Tide owes their success to playing in a mediocre SEC West, it is noteworthy that Alabama won four of its six games against the conference's Eastern division as well. For a team that lost to Iowa, Providence and St. Peter's earlier this year, winning eight out of ten games against the Western side is case for celebration. 

The Tide's surprising turnaround may have come too late to make the NCAA tournament, but make no mistake, Alabama's basketball program turned a corner this season.

The team may not reach all of its' goals this year. It still has flaws. There is no legitimate outside shooting threat other than the streaky Charvez Davis, and the team simply cannot score if he is having an off day. Point guard Trevor Releford is talented, but still makes prototypical freshman mistakes, particularly in game management situations in crunch time. Green and Chris Hines are the only players in the rotation taller than 6'6", and both are regularly in foul trouble. 

These flaws will probably force the Tide to a quick exit from the tournament, if the Tide are invited. But these flaws are encouraging. The fact that this Alabama team could still go 12-4 makes one marvel at what the future may hold after Grant gets a few more of his highly touted recruiting classes on the court.

For the first time in a long time, Alabama's basketball future looks bright. After a year and a half of twisting in the wind, the players seem to have finally bought into Grant's defensive-minded system.

Releford effectively runs the offense as a freshman, and he will only get better.  The Tide's two best scorers (Green and Tony Mitchell) both have eligibility remaining after this year, and even should they turn pro, Grant has lined up two classes of fabulous recruits to take their place.   

Alabama's horrific results against generally bad competition in non-conference play may be enough to deny it a coveted NCAA Tournament bid notwithstanding its shiny SEC record. While the Tide would love to be included, an invitation will not define this team's success. The Tide's second-half results have proven if the Tide play Grant's style of basketball, they will win games. Alabama fans should be excited for the future.