Do you know what happens Saturday, January 6? Other than the fact that the College Football Playoff semifinals winners will have arrived in Houston in advance of the Monday, January 8, national championship game, it’s not a football Saturday.
It is the start of Southeastern Conference basketball season, insofar as league teams playing one another for most of the next three-and-half months. That still is about three weeks away, though, and in the interim most SEC teams are padding their schedules with wins.
Not all, but some.
Today Ole Miss is leading the SEC with a 10-0 record. It would not be a surprise if the Rebels go into conference play (at Tennessee) with a 13-0 record.
Alabama, on the other hand, is 6-4, third from the bottom among SEC teams in non-conference games and likely to be 6-5 after playing Arizona in Phoenix Wednesday (10 p.m. CST on ESPN). Arizona was No. 1 in the nation, although beaten by Purdue on Saturday. Purdue had been No. 4 in the nation before beating Alabama in Toronto and Arizona. Between Purdue and Arizona the Tide has lost to No. 8 Creighton on the road.
Alabama Coach Nate Oats is on record as intentionally playing a tough schedule to see where his team measures up. So far, just a little short, a six-point loss to Purdue (92-86) and a three-point loss at Creighton (85-82). This is, of course, an almost completely rebuilt Alabama team, eight new players and all three of the assistant coaches new.
There is no guarantee that playing a very tough schedule will pay dividends, but that was the philosophy of former Tide Coach C.M. Newton (“You’ve got to play the best to be the best,” was his mantra.) On the other hand, Wimp Sanderson, also very successful, did not subscribe to a theory that might result in a handful of losses. (I once advised him to schedule bad basketball teams from good football schools and that neither his record nor ticket sales would suffer.) There’s no one formula for being successful, except perhaps recruiting.
There also is no guarantee that Bama won’t be punished at NCAA Tournament selection time for those pre-conference losses, but in recent years just playing a tough schedule was looked upon favorably by the selection committee.
Alabama will open the season at an historically difficult place to play, Vanderbilt’s quirky Memorial Gym, at 2:30 p.m. CST, Saturday, Jan. 6, on SEC Network.
Once upon a time the Commodores were among the best in basketball in the SEC, but Vandy has been having rough times of late and as of today is 4-6.
Here’s how things look:
SEC STANDINGS
Ole Miss 10-0
South Carolina 9-1
Kentucky 8-2
Mississippi State 9-2
Auburn 8-2
Tennessee 8-3
Florida 7-3
Georgia 7-3
Missouri 7-4
Arkansas 7-4
Texas A&M 7-4
Alabama 6-4
LSU 6-5
Vanderbilt 4-6
Winthrop at South Carolina
Troy at Ole Miss
Western Carolina at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. CST, SEC Network
Florida at Michigan, 6 p.m. CST, ESPN
Mount St. Marys at Georgia
Alabama vs. Arizona in Phoenix, 10 p.m. CST, ESP
Kentucky at Louisville, 5 p.m. CST, ESPN
Tarleton State at Tennessee
Abilene Christian at Arkansas, 6 p.m. CST, SEC Network
Grambling at Florida
Elon at South Carolina, 6 p.m . EST, 5 p.m. central, SEC Network
Alabama State at Auburn
Houston Christian at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. CST, SEC Network
Illinois at Missouri, 9 p.m. EST, 8 p.m. central, Fox Sports 1
Ole Miss at Southern Miss
Eastern Kentucky at Alabama, 3 p.m. CST, SEC Network
Final Push: Top remaining targets & intel three days from Signing Day
Bama247 breaks down the top remaining targets for Alabama
We’re just three days from the start of the Early Signing Period. Nick Saban and his staff have been all around the country the last two weeks in an effort to put the finishing touches on the 2024 class.
Alabama has the No. 4 class with 21 commits. With just three days until pen hits paper, the staff is in the final pushing for targets and specific positions.
There is still no running back committed and the Crimson Tide would also like to add more muscle up front on either side of the ball.
Alabama hosted pair of flip candidates, a Top247 Edge and some transfer portal targets and some surprise five-star visitors this weekend.
