It's only four games into the season, but one thing has quickly become clear about this Alabama basketball team: their ceiling is as high as any team in the country, and they've already vastly outplayed preseason expectations for a team that lost a significant amount of production from last season.
Nate Oats wanted to put his team through the ringer immediately. Three of Alabama's four games have come against Top 10 opponents: No. 5 St. John's, No. 2 Purdue, and then No. 8 Illinois in Chicago on Wednesday night.
After Alabama's 90-86 win over the Illini, the Crimson Tide has now earned two quality wins away from Tuscaloosa, adding a win at the United Center over Illinois to a resume that already included a win over St.