Trending With the Tide: Examining Alabama's Hot Start on the Diamond and Inconsistency on the Court
Welcome back to Trending with the Tide where we give a stock report of Alabama athletics over the past week. Here’s a look at where the Crimson Tide stands at the moment.
Stock rising
Alabama softball’s pitching staff
Everyone knows about Montana Fouts, but Alabama’s other ace pitcher is off to a stellar start in the circle as well. Lexi Kilfoyl (2-0) has yet to allow a run over 12⅔ innings this season and now has two complete-game shutouts over top-10 opponents in Arizona and Virginia Tech.
Fouts (3-0) has also lived up to expectations, striking out 38 batters over 20⅓ innings while allowing just nine hits and two earned runs over that span. Jaala Torrence (2-0) and Alex Salter (2-0) have filled out the back end of the rotation nicely, allowing Alabama to cruise to a 9-0 start to the year.
Buy or sell: Alabama’s earned run average currently sits at 0.89 heading into Thursday’s game at Louisiana-Lafayette. If the one-two punch of Fouts and Kilfoyl keeps up at this pace, expect the Crimson Tide to make another deep run in Oklahoma City this summer. (BUY)
Alabama baseball’s lineup
On the other diamond, Alabama baseball is also off to a perfect start following a weekend sweep of Xavier. The Crimson Tide combined for 32 hits, including four home runs and seven doubles over its three wins against the Musketeers, finishing the series with a .327 team batting average.
Buy or sell: While it’s a bit early to get excited, Alabama’s lineup has the potential to provide a significant improvement from last year when the Crimson Tide batted .260 as a team. William Hamiter already has three extra-base hits after recording 16 over 53 games last year. Meanwhile, junior college transfer Dominic Tamez is off to a fast start with a pair of home runs over the weekend. (BUY)
Charles Bediako’s offensive production
Is Alabama basketball finally getting to see the best out of its big man? It is on the offensive end at least.
Freshman center Charles Bediako has made 18 of his last 22 shots from the field over his last five games. That includes a season-best performance during last week’s win over Mississippi State when he scored 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting while also recording six blocks and five rebounds over 27 minutes.
Bediako, 7-foot, 225 pounds, is still getting used to the physicality of the college level and is far from a finished product at the post position. Despite scoring 6 points on 3 of 3 shooting over the weekend, the freshman struggled to corral Kentucky forwards Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe who combined for 34 points and 20 rebounds during the Wildcats' 90-81 victory over the Crimson Tide.
Bediako showed flashes against Kentucky, swatting away two shots for his third straight game with two or more blocks. However, the Crimson Tide will need him to provide more of a defensive presence down low.
Buy or sell: There’s no doubting Bediako’s potential moving forward. However, until his defensive game improves, he won’t see the court long enough to continue his offensive production.
Tonight’s game against Vanderbilt should serve as a nice litmus test as Bediako will go up against Liam Robbins (7-foot, 250 pounds), who is coming off a season-best performance against Texas A&M where he scored 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting while also recording eight rebounds and a pair of blocks over 26 minutes. I’ll feel better about Bediako’s trajectory if he bounces back with a strong performance in Nashville, Tenn. However, until then I’m taking a wait-and-see approach on the talented freshman. (SELL).
Stock falling
Alabama basketball’s defense
Nate Oats has had enough with Alabama basketball’s porous defense this season. According to KenPom.com, the Crimson Tide ranks No. 11 in the nation in scoring efficiency, averaging 117.6 points per 100 possessions. However, that firepower has been canceled out by a defense that has allowed 98.8 points per 100 possessions on the other end.
Over the weekend, Alabama allowed a short-handed Kentucky team to shoot 53.2% from the floor in a 90-81 loss to the Wildcats. That prompted an agitated response from Oats during his Monday press conference.
“Really, offense hasn’t been our problem most of the year,” Oats said. “Our defense is our problem. We’re gonna put guys in the game that are going to play defense. I don’t really care how talented an offensive player you are -- if you’re not going to guard on the defensive end, you’re not gonna play from here on out.”
Buy or sell: Alabama’s defensive consistency has been a problem all season, but it appears Oats has finally reached his breaking point. The Crimson Tide closes out its regular season with a string of winnable games, traveling to Vanderbilt tonight before hosting South Carolina and Texas A&M and closing things out with a trip to LSU. Look for Oats to make a statement over that span as he looks to re-establish his blue-collar brand of basketball. (BUY)
