NCAA Basketball: Why Alabama doesn’t belong at the top of the rankings

Rewarding the Alabama Crimson Tide with a spot at the top of the NCAA basketball rankings just feels wrong in light of recent events.

Obviously, the latest rankings don’t take into account anything more than wins and losses. And the Crimson Tide are one of the best teams in the country. But those same rankings could take more than just wins and losses into account. After all, these are polls and that means that if enough voters all agreed that Alabama didn’t belong among NCAA basketball royalty, they could make that happen.

And there hasn’t been a team in recent memory that deserves to get punished in any way that it can more than Alabama.

If you haven’t heard about the role that Brandon Miller had in the death of an innocent woman, then let me catch you up. Miller, who will not be charged with a crime, allegedly brought then Alabama teammate Darius Miles his gun after getting a phone call from Miles. Miles is accused of then shooting and killing Jamea Jonae Harris, the mother of a 5-year-old son.

While authorities have said that Miller won’t be charged with anything, that doesn’t mean Alabama head coach Nate Oats can’t suspend Miller for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Miller doesn’t need to be convicted of anything. NCAA basketball teams suspend players all the time for things less severe than handling an alleged murder weapon.

Instead, Nate Oats has made excuses for Miller. Going so far as to claim the star player (who is averaging 19.7 points and 8 rebounds per game) was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And it appears that Alabama players have decided that Oats isn’t taking the situation seriously.

It’s pretty clear that Oats is too concerned with staying at the top of the NCAA basketball rankings to suspend Miller. Or even speak ill about his actions.

And that’s why the pollsters should punish everyone involved. Maybe a week outside the Top 25 would make it clear that the way the Crimson Tide are handling this whole thing isn’t acceptable. In a sport where the rankings don’t matter all that much when tournament time rolls around, this kind of punishment would be the least the NCAA basketball world could do, and still send a message.