10 Things to Know About the Alabama Crimson Tide

@MrsTylerKSR

On Saturday, I'm packing up my laptop bag and heading south to Alabama for Kentucky's second SEC road trip of the season. What can the Cats expect from the Crimson Tide? My research yielded these ten things:

1. Anthony Grant is still there, wearing his crisp shirts

The well-starched one is in his sixth season as the Crimson Tide's head coach and has an 111-75 record. Many thought Grant would get the boot after failing to even get to the NIT last season, but Alabama AD Bill Battle voiced his support for Grant and the direction in which he's taking the program. So far this season, the Crimson Tide is 12-4 and 2-1 in conference play, and got 7 votes in the latest AP poll. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="453"]

Obligatory Anthony Grant picture[/caption] Would you believe me if I told you that Grant is 48 years old? Me neither, but he is.

2. Levi Randolph is still there too

The SEC means four things: Sunkist, Golden Flake, Joe Dean Jr., and players you can't believe haven't graduated yet. Maybe we're just too accustomed to the one-and-done culture, but it seems like some SEC players have been in the league forever. Levi Randolph is one of them. Randolph is a senior and still has those dreads. He can still dunk, too:

3. They lost to South Carolina by two points on Tuesday

Alabama's record is 12-4, with their most recent loss coming at South Carolina. Alabama lost by two after a Levi Randolph three at the buzzer didn't connect. It was a physical game, with 54 fouls called, 27 for each team. South Carolina was able to win the battle of the boards 33-23, which Anthony Grant said was the reason they ultimately won the game. "The difference in the game was the backboards," Grant said. "They kept getting the second shot." He's right. The most telling stat of the game? Alabama had FOUR offensive rebounds to South Carolina's 13. Yikes.

4. However, the loss to Wichita State is still the heartbreaker of the season

After leading the then 11th-ranked Shockers by 11 with six minutes to go, the Crimson Tide absolutely collapsed. Wichita State outscored Alabama 13-1 in the final six minutes to win 53-52. It was incredibly embarrassing.

5. The student section will wear these shirts on Saturday

Alabama calls its student section "Crimson Chaos," and because Kentucky is everyone's Super Bowl/T-shirt night/whiteout/sellout, they'll sport these special shirts on Saturday. The Chaos planned to hold a "cheer practice" tonight to get ready for the game, but canceled it, which is really a shame, because I was hoping to have a KSR spy infiltrate it. After watching Kentucky beat up Missouri, they must have decided it wasn't worth the effort.

6. Crimson Chaos is also leading a campaign to get Channing Tatum to come to a game

Apparently Tatum is an Alabama native and fan, or at least he was photographed wearing an Alabama sweatshirt a few times. The Chaos has started a campaign to get Tatum to come to the Alabama/Missouri game on February 4. After seeing the trailer for "Magic Mike," I don't blame them.

7. Their motto is "94 feet both ways"

Grant says Alabama strives to be aggressive and disruptive on the defensive end, while attacking and efficient on offense. The length of a basketball court is 94 feet. So offense and defense...both ways. Get it? In case you don't, there's a a piece of art near their locker room to hammer it home:

Hopefully I can catch Willie Cauley-Stein's reaction to that on Saturday. It's right up his alley.

8. Ricky Tikki Tarrant is second on the team in scoring

His real name is just Ricky Tarrant, but I can't see that without thinking of Rikki Tikki Tavi from "The Jungle Book." The junior guard transferred to Alabama from Tulane and sat out last season. This year, he's Alabama's 2nd best scorer behind Levi Randolph, averaging 13.3 points per game. He was named SEC Player of the Week on December 29 after scoring a career-high 24 points in the Crimson Tide's win over UCLA.

9. Remember CM Newton? He has a beard now

The former Alabama basketball coach and Kentucky athletic director is retired now and regularly attends Alabama games. Judging by this picture, he could also play Santa at the local mall if he gets really bored with all that spare time.