re: Alabama Basketball Megathread | 26-7 (16-2)

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Alabama continues its takeover of ESPN. The Saturday, Feb. 6 game at Missouri has also been moved to the flagship network. Time change to 11 a.m. CT

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Alabama’s game at Missouri next Saturday (Feb. 6) has been moved to 11 a.m. on ESPN. Had been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network.

Missouri is currently No. 12 in the AP poll.

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Alabama, currently No. 9, is becoming more of a draw for ESPN on its main networks. Over an 11-game span beginning Jan. 2, Alabama had or will have 4 games on ESPN and another 5 on ESPN2.

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I think Auburn beats Baylor tomorrow which would really boost us if we get the sweep on them.

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The sad part is everyone was picking them as the 12/5 upset..our players had to have known and STILL let it happen

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If you listen to college coaches talk publicly or privately, you’ll often hear them use the phrase that they want to “get old and stay old” with their roster. It’s easier said than done to manage a roster that way while also having quality talent, but the current make-up of the top 10 teams tells us that seniority does make a difference in college hoops.

Gonzaga, Baylor, Villanova, Michigan, Texas, Houston, Iowa, Virginia, Alabama and Texas Tech currently make up the top 10 in the AP poll. Of the 50 regular starters on those ten teams, there are 21 seniors in the starting lineups. There are also five redshirt juniors, meaning 26 - and over half - of the starters on top ten teams are in their fourth year of college or more. Of the 21 seniors, there are eight redshirt seniors and one junior (Texas guard Andrew Jones) in their fifth year of college.

On the flip side, we often see teams with an influx of highly ranked incoming freshmen ranked highly in preseason polls. Sometimes they stick up there, but they also sometimes flop, as we’ve seen with some teams this year. Right now, only six true freshmen are starting on top 10 teams: Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs, Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, Texas forward Greg Brown, Virginia guard Reece Beekman, Alabama guard Josh Primo and Texas Tech forward Micah Peavy. Only Suggs and Brown were ranked as five-star prospects in the 2020 class.

Speaking of five-star prospects, it often feels like in football the only teams that really have a chance at winning a national championship are the ones that reel in five-star caliber talent and top-five classes every year. That’s not necessarily the case in basketball because five-star prospects can leave after a year. In the current top 10, there are only six five-star prospects in the starting lineups: Suggs, Brown, Villanova forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Andrew Jones, Houston guard Quentin Grimes and Alabama guard John Petty.

I don’t see this year’s make-up of top 10 teams being an outlier either. The best teams will usually have juniors and seniors making up their starting lineups. Texas Tech is the only team in the top 10 right now that doesn’t start at least two players in their fourth year of college or more. If you’re die-hard fan of a college basketball team, pray that your coaching staff can manage their roster in a way that keeps them old.

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So even in our good times we still choked?

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