Happy Monday, everyone. The Gym Tide lost to Florida to open the weekend, then came in third in a quad meet with Cal, Michigan State, and North Carolina yesterday. Softball won three of four but losing to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns is always unseemly, and Baseball took two of three from the Presbyterian Blue Hose.
Of course, the big news of the weekend was the men’s basketball team’s win at Auburn. As Nick Kelly notes, it felt good to get a big win after struggling late against the nation’s most difficult stretch of games.
Alabama’s energy had been fading by the game. The machine that beat some of the top teams in the country was sputtering. Who cares if the seven-game stretch was the toughest? These players are human beings who can get discouraged too, losing four of the past six prior to facing the Tigers again.
“We’ve got to get our confidence back that we can play with the best teams in the country,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said Friday, the day before his team closed the regular season on the road against No. 1 Auburn.
Then Sears dropped in a shot that not only gave No. 7 Alabama the 93-91 overtime victory over the Tigers at Neville Arena but also injected an energy-giving antidote into every single person wearing crimson and white.
Alabama also now has an outside chance at a one seed, but probably needs to win the SEC Tournament to get it.
Alabama’s 93-91 overtime win over Auburn did not knock the Tigers out of their position as the overall No. 1 seed in the Bracketology updated NCAA Tournament bracket projection, but it did keep the Crimson Tide in the hunt for the fourth No. 1 seed.
Auburn and Duke are locks for the top line and it would take a bad loss of some sort to jeopardize Houston’s place, but the Cougars should be in good shape.
The fourth No. 1 spot will come down to four teams: Florida, Tennessee and Alabama from the SEC and Michigan State. I believe that if one of the three SEC teams wins the conference tournament, that team will be the fourth No. 1 seed. If none of them win it, that opens the door for the Spartans to make a run at the top line.
The Tide will more than likely play Kentucky, as usual, on Friday night. Hopefully the double bye will have everyone well rested.
In football news, Alabama doesn’t lack experience this season.
As DeBoer, Grubb and Wommack speak about the 2025 recruiting class, expectations are clearly high, and there has been ample praise, especially for players like Russell, offensive lineman Michael Carroll and defensive back Dijon Lee.
But when it comes to the returners, players Wommack called “the best recruiting job” from the Crimson Tide’s past offseason, the head coach and two coordinators can’t say enough, creating a feeling that experience will carry Alabama in 2025, especially with a road game against Florida State to open the season Aug. 30.
There will still be youth in spots as players like Michael Carroll and Jackson Lloyd push for early time, but this won’t be a young team.
One youngster that has impressed his new team is WR Lotzeir Brooks.
Hubbard, the incoming junior safety, said Jalen Hale ”is freaking balling right now” and is “locked in” after missing the 2024 season with an injury. Hubbard also mentioned former cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe as a key addition to the Crimson Tide wide receiver room.
One freshman, Hubbard said, has stood out through the first three spring practices: Lotzeir Brooks.
“That dude’s fast,” Hubbard said. “That sucker, he’s hard to keep up with, I will say. I ain’t going to lie.”
There is speed to burn in that WR room with Bak added to the mix.
Last, Utah transfer CB Cam Calhoun has been forced into action this spring and has made quite an impression.
Alabama is young at DB this spring, with Malachi Moore off to the NFL, while Keon Sabb and Domani Jackson are both out with injuries. Their absence has opened the door for younger players like Dijon Lee Jr. to get more reps but has also made Calhoun more visible.
Wommack praised his mental makeup after one week of practice.
“Really like Cam,” Wommack said. “He has a maturity about him. You can tell this dude’s been a seasoned player at a place that’s established itself as one of the great defenses year in and year out at Utah. It’s not an easy task to get on the field at that program, and he was a starter, so it’s awesome to be able to gain that experience.”
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
