With March on the Horizon our NCAA stock report provides a look at the most interesting teams in college basketball from last week.
Teams on the Rise:
Alabama Crimson Tide: The Alabama Crimson continue to be the hottest team in the country. From a team that only a few weeks ago found themselves outside of the top 25 they have broken into the top 10 this week ranking #9. The Crimson Tide are currently 13-3 and look to go 14-3 tonight as they fight against a Kentucky team struggling to stay afloat(they won this game convincingly). Alabama has the coaching, the depth and the top tier players to make a real impact in March. They are essentially walking away with the conference and have yet to lose a game in the SEC. Even though they are an unfamiliar face in the top tier of the AP rankings, they are not a team to sleep on.
In my opinion, Alabama has become a sleeper final four team. In a conference that touts Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia, to name a few, Alabama basketball has risen to the top. Getting into their coaching situation, Nate Oats came from Buffalo only two seasons ago and has the program in a position to capture their first conference championship in a decade. An under the radar hire, if Oats can replicate the success he had in Buffalo with this current Tide team, he may just have them playing for a chance to get into the final four by the end of March. As for the team itself, guard depth is their bread and butter. With three of their four double digit scorers playing the guard position the team has no problem sharing the wealth and making you pay for it every minute of the game. Rounding out their double digit scoring is forward Herbert Jones. The real threat of this team and how it is constructed is that generally teams that have multiple double digit scorers are extremely top heavy and their scoring distribution if skewed heavily to the top. However, with this Alabama team, they spread the ball so well that their whopping 81ppg game come from their entire team. This translates to opposing teams struggling to limit offensive production even if they slow down two of their leading scorers. As long as the Tide stay healthy and keep producing at their current rate their three headed monster of a back court, featuring John Petty Jr., Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly, will take them farther than many can imagine right now.
Oklahoma Sooners: Another team to continue to rise up the rankings at an alarming pace are the Oklahoma Sooners. Picking up a signature win last week against Kansas has put them in the top 25. The Sooners knocked off #5 Texas tonight in a tightly contested 80-79 game behind Austin Reaves 25 point, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. With three Sooners averaging double figures this year backed by a strong bench they have finally found their footing in the Big 12 and look to compete well into March.
Teams Falling Out:
UConn Huskies: Without James Bouknight piloting the ship, the UConn Huskies have fallen out of the top 25 and it doesn’t look like their freefall will end anytime soon. Dropping their last two games without their star player and projeted lottery pick the Huskies are in trouble, to say the least. Playing in one of the most challenging conferences in America doesn’t help their chances of being able to string wins together without Bouknight. While they look to get back on track tonight against Butler, their next four games are against St Johns, Seton Hall, Providence and Xavier. In a best cas scenario the team wins thier next five including the game tonight but it is more realistic that they can go 4-1 or 3-2. If this is not the case their tournament position may be in trouble has they sink closer and closer to being “on the bubble”.
Clemson Tigers: The Clemson Tigers looked like one of the best teams in the nation only a few short weeks ago. However, overnight it seems like they have fallen apart. Barely garnering any votes this week don’t expect Clemson to find themselves back in the top 25 for the rest of the season. While the Tigers have proven they have the pieces for sustained success it seems that the elevated hype surrounding the team during the first few weeks of the season was all smoke and mirrors. The Tigers have lost their last three games and have another major test against Louisville tomorrow at 9pm. If Clemson is able to win their next three games they may be able to salvage their once promising season.
Honorable Mentions:
The Blue Bloods of College Basketball: The Blue Bloods are dead. This year the teams that have dominated the power rankings for decades have finally all fallen out. It is hard to imagine a scenario where Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Michigan State and UCLA are all outside of the Top 25 but this is the 2020-21 season. Questions have begun to arise if most of these teams will make the tournament (UCLA being the exception). Frustration is mounting for each program and it just does not seem like they have the talent to right the ship as March looms. I expect most of these programs to find their way into the tournament off their name alone, creating disputes around the NCAA about which bubble teams were left out in the cold.