Alabama Basketball is Rising to New Levels, but Gonzaga has Been Here Before

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Before the arrival of head coach Nate Oats in 2019, the Alabama basketball program had made the NCAA Tournament just twice since 2005-06.

Flash forward to 2020-21, and the Crimson Tide was the SEC regular season and tournament champions — also reaching the Sweet 16. A season ago, Alabama was a No. 5 seed in the annual “Big Dance.” Now, the Crimson Tide is ranked No. 4 in the country — it's highest mark since 2006.

These are heights the program hasn’t seen since the 1980s and 1990s.

“This program has come a long way — especially with what’s happened in the past,” guard Mark Sears said on Monday. “I’d like to say we’re becoming a basketball school. We’ve proved it with some big time wins this month. So yeah, we’re becoming a basketball school.”

He’s not factually wrong. For the first time since Nick Saban’s arrival in 2007, the basketball program (No. 4) on campus is ranked higher than the football team (No. 5).

And that’s a testament to the culture Oats has brought to Tuscaloosa.

"We've come a long way in three and a half years," head coach Nate Oats said. "I think it really speaks to the players and how hard they play, how together they've bought in, the culture they've built. […] If the players don't buy in, it doesn't matter. […] The program has come a long way."

But in order to stay on top, the Crimson Tide (9-1) has to keep winning. And it may have its toughest task yet on Saturday in the form of the 15th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Bulldogs (8-3) have been a staple in the sport since the turn of the century. Head coach Mark Few has led Gonzaga to the NCAA Tournament every year since 1997-98 — except for the canceled 2020 tournament, which the Bulldogs would have been a No. 1 seed in. To be frank, Gonzaga is one of the premier blue bloods of the sport. In fact, the Bulldogs have reached an AP No. 1 ranking in six out of the last 10 years.

"Gonzaga is Gonzaga," Oats said. "[It's] one of the best programs in the country. […] There's a lot we've got to do to win this game — it's not going to be an easy one."

So in order to continue on its quest of becoming a basketball school, Alabama will have to take down one of college basketball’s finest. It did so last season, defeating Gonzaga 91-82 on the heels of Jaden Shackelford’s 28 points in the “Battle in Seattle.”

Last season’s win was an upset. The Bulldogs were 9.5-point favorites when the Crimson Tide made its journey to the Pacific Northwest. Now, it’s likely Alabama will be favored when the series shifts to Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

Read that again. The Crimson Tide is going to be favored over Gonzaga … in basketball.

If you’re wanting to put your money on Alabama to win again, read this first. Since 2018-19, the Bulldogs are 6-1 in the regular season against teams ranked in the top-five of either the AP Poll or Coaches’ Poll.

Now, this Gonzaga team may not be as good as in years’ past. But it still has some of its cornerstones. Drew Timme is still around and having his best season yet. He is averaging 20.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game on 62.1% shooting. Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton are still firing away from deep, shooting 40% and 41.9% from beyond the arc, respectively.

"They're ranked a little lower than they were last year, but I don't know that they're a worse team. It may just be taking a little longer to get their stuff together. […] It would be hard to say they're better than last year, but I'm certainly not saying they're worse."

Tipoff for the C.M. Newton Classic is set for Saturday, Dec. 17 at noon CT on CBS.

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