Points in the Paint: Dominant ‘Bama Hoops surges to No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings Share this story Arden Barnes-USA TODAY Sports This is the Alabama basketball we were promised: Gritty defense, hustle on both ends of the floor, analytic-friendly perimeter-oriented wing players heaving it up at will, scoreboards igniting, and Crimson Tide hoops not being merely relevant, but a legitimate threat. And there are few teams as hot in the nation as the soaring Alabama Crimson Tide, led by a man I would take a bullet for, second-year coach Nate Oats. We must protect this man at all costs.