Alabama hasn’t let up on the basketball court in recent weeks, and coach Anthony Grant doesn’t see the need to start now.
The Crimson Tide have secured their first Southeastern Conference West Division title since 2005 with four games remaining in the regular season. Alabama is 10-2 in league games and has swept Mississippi State, which is second in the West at 6-6.
“Our guys understand where we are as a basketball team,” Grant said Monday. “Every coach in the league will tell you that the home stretch is always critical.”
Alabama’s sizzling success in SEC play has gone relatively unnoticed nationally, with the 18-8 Tide receiving 15 votes in the newest Associated Press poll and none in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. The Tide began league play with an 8-6 record, a ranking of 214th in the Ratings Percentage Index and without any wins against top-100 teams.
“You want your team to be playing its best leading into the month of March,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “If they’re not garnering the respect that they deserve, they will certainly do so if they continue to play the way they have.”