Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Roll Tide Rolling

It’s been long established that Alabama is a basketball school. As the football team flounders into non-playoff exhibitions, the basketball team has risen to win the hearts of Crimson Tide fans. Truth is, they should win your heart, too.

This team is fun. They are the 4th fastest team and have the 13th most efficient offense per KenPom. They have a 3PA/FGA % of  47.2 which means they’re the 12th highest volume 3-point shooters. They also have the nations 29th best offensive rebounding margin, getting 34% of their misses. They get extra shots. They also get to the the line. They have a 40.7 FTA/FGA %, 17th in the nation. The offensive bugaboo is a high turnover rate of 19.6%, 250th worse.

Defensively, they have the 5th adjusted defensive efficiency. It’s powered by having the nations 3rd best effective defensive fg %. They’re an average defensive rebounding team but do not create any turnovers. Considering how they crash the offensive glass, teams should have opportunities to run on them.

They’ve rolled to a 7-0 start in the SEC but don’t have the meat of their schedule until next month. Trips to Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M await but they do avoid Lexington. Their two losses are neutral site losses to UConn and Gonzaga.

Freshman Brandon Miller is currently 3rd in KenPom POY standings and a delight to watch. He’s a wildly efficient player shooting 46% from 3 and played better in Conference than out of it. Transfer Mark Sears from Ohio has fit in nicely and is one of the nation’s better defenders. Another frosh, Noah Clowney has been their best rebounder and shot blocker.

They’d be my pick to cut down the nets if the season ended today. We’ll have to see how the frosh handle things with more miles on the legs and how the team handles a tougher slate in February. They play Oklahoma Saturday in the SEC-Big XII bonanza. Give them a watch. This is a team that plays fun and good fast basketball

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