Improving as the winter progresses is a shared goal of every college basketball program.
That is not happening at Alabama.
The Crimson Tide opened Southeastern Conference play in early January with a thrilling triumph over Kentucky, but they are now seeking to shake a significant slump. Alabama has lost three straight games, and a setback Saturday night to visiting Vanderbilt could be too much to overcome.
"We're the most inconsistent team in the league," fourth-year Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. "There are times when we look like a team that could be at the top end of our conference. We barely lost at Tennessee. We beat Kentucky at home, and we had an outstanding game against a really good Ole Miss team at home.
"Then we've had other games when we've looked like we've never held a practice before."
The SEC Network's Paul Finebaum reported earlier this week that Johnson soon could be seeking a front-office role in the NBA, where he once coached.
Alabama started trending in the wrong direction last week with lopsided losses to Mississippi State, 81-62, and Florida, 71-53, with the Tide failing to hold the lead for a single second of those 80 minutes. They played at struggling Texas A&M on Tuesday and led for most of the night, but the Aggies used a closing 33-12 run to rally for a 65-56 triumph.
The Tide's 15-11 overall record and 6-7 mark within the SEC mirrors Johnson's first three years in Tuscaloosa. Alabama went 18-15 and 19-15 in his first two seasons, getting bumped in the NIT's first round on each occasion, and last year's team finished 20-16 and won an NCAA tournament game before getting thumped by eventual champion Villanova.
That 2017-18 team was led by freshman guard Collin Sexton, who was taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the eighth overall selection in the NBA draft, and this year's squad has been headed by freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. The 6-foot-3, 167-pound Lewis has averaged 14 points per game this season and has a team-high 76 assists, but he is coming off a 2-for-11 shooting performance in College Station.
Sophomore guard John Petty and senior forward Donta Hall comprise the primary supporting cast, but each is scuffling as well.
Petty has drained six 3-pointers on two occasions this season, including the 71-68 loss in Knoxville on Jan. 19, but he has made just four 3s over the past five games. The 6-9 Hall is averaging 10.7 points but only 7.5 in his past six contests.
"We're still looking for consistency on both ends of the floor," Johnson said, "whether that's taking care of the ball and limiting our turnovers or spacing the floor well or shooting it better from the 3-point line and the free-throw line. We've got to do a better job of being in the right position to rebound the basketball to get out and run.
"Once we get a rebound, we're one of the fastest teams in transition in the SEC."
Last year's Tide survived a five-game losing streak to close the regular season, but that team had a better standing among the various NCAA bracket projections. This year's Tide are a very shaky 52nd in the NET rankings.
"We've got to stick with it," Johnson said. "Life is not always perfect. This is not a Disney movie, but there is no reason why we can't finish SEC play on a high note."
Should its slide continue, Alabama would miss out on the NCAA tournament for the 11th time in 13 seasons after making five straight trips from 2002 to 2006. The Tide reached NCAA play 12 times in the 14 seasons from 1982 to 1995.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.