If 2021 was the Year of the Gump, 2022 has been the exact opposite of that - so far, at least. The Alabama Crimson Tide (11-6, 2-3 SEC, NET: 24; Kenpom: 16) has suffered three straight losses coming into the day, with very poor play in a number of areas plaguing a team that has gone from AP top-5 to unranked in the span of a month. Poor defense, weak interior play, horrific defensive rebounding, surprisingly bad shooting - it’s been a litany of issues for Alabama recently.
With that being said, this is still the team that went into Seattle and beat the current #1 team in the country, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, in a game that was far from a fluke - that win was sandwiched by victories over ACC-leading Miami and AAC-leading Houston.