Alabama is one of the hottest teams in men’s basketball, aided by a familiar face to Villanova fans

With six national championships in 12 seasons, including 2020, Alabama football dominates the sports landscape. But the Crimson Tide’s basketball team is carving out its piece of the attention as well.

The Tide are the hottest team in the country not named Gonzaga or Baylor. They have won their last three games by a combined 81 points. That includes wins at Kentucky and at Louisiana State, the latter a 105-75 blowout Tuesday night that saw ‘Bama knock down an SEC-record 23 – twenty-three! – three-point baskets.

Ranked 18th this week, the Tide are 12-3 and can match their best SEC start ever, 8-0, with a win Saturday against Mississippi State. They are 13th in offensive efficiency and 10th in defensive efficiency as rated by KenPom.com, which also ranks them fifth in possession length at 14.2 seconds per trip.

One player who is enjoying this up-tempo style of play is redshirt sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly, who played one season at Villanova before transferring, then had to sit out last season when the NCAA declined to extend him a transfer waiver.

Quinerly, who returned to action last Saturday after missing three games with a medical condition, is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, and leads in assists with an average of 3.3. He is shooting 37.8% from three-point range, sinking 6 of 7 against LSU and scoring 22 points in 20 minutes.

Quinerly started seven of his first eight games but has come off the bench recently. In an interview after a Jan. 2 win over Tennessee, Alabama coach Nate Oats said he has been “playing great in the games,” and is working to get better on defense.

“We’re just trying to get him to lock in and be focused on the defensive side of the ball,” Oats said. “I thought he was pretty good defensively against Tennessee. He was even better offensively. I think his offensive game hasn’t really been an issue this year.”

Quinerly, who was a five-star recruit coming out of Hudson Catholic (N.J.) High School, averaged 3.2 points and 9.1 minutes in 25 games at Villanova during the 2018-19 season.

If you’re an old-time Philadelphia basketball fan, the mention of Drake University brings back memories of former Overbrook High star and local playground legend Lewis Lloyd, who was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year at the Des Moines, Iowa, school in 1980 and 1981.

The Bulldogs are back on the national radar this season as one of four remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division I, sitting at 13-0 while wrapping up a run of five consecutive postponements because of COVID-19 issues at MVC schools. They are 11th in the NCAA’s NET ranking.

They rank in the top 20 of NCAA statistics in seven key categories: second in scoring margin (24.0 points per game) and in three-point percentage (43.0%), third in field goal percentage (53.5%), 10th in points allowed (59.9) and rebound margin (plus-9.9), 14th in scoring (83.9) and 19th in defensive field goal percentage (38.8%).

Three Drake starters are Division I transfers – top scorer ShanQuan Hemphill (14.2 ppg., 59.2% shooting) from Green Bay, point guard Roman Penn (5.8 assists per game) from Siena and top rebounder Darrell Brodie (6.5 rpg.) from Seton Hall.

Despite their NET number, strength of schedule could be an issue for the Bulldogs as they move forward. The NCAA credits them with 11 Division I wins, none of them in Quad 1. Nine have been against Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams.

Another former Villanova player, 6-10 redshirt senior center Dylan Painter, enjoyed a weekend to remember in Delaware’s two-game series last Saturday and Sunday against Hofstra.

Painter scored 18 points and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds in the first game, won by the Blue Hens 74-56. He followed that up with 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in a narrow 68-67 defeat. His achievements earned him CAA co-player of the week honors.

For the season, Painter is averaging 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds while shooting 51.1% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line.

No. 2 Baylor (13-0, 6-0 Big 12) at Oklahoma State (9-3, 3-3), 2 p.m., CBS3 – The Bears are coming off a 77-69 win over Kansas sparked by 30 points from Jared Butler. They are one of the most balanced teams in the country, with four players averaging in double figures and their bench contributing 34 points per game. Their chief task Saturday will be to try to shut down the Cowboys freshman Cade Cunningham, a likely NBA lottery pick, who is averaging 17.8 points on the season.

No. 23 Connecticut (7-2, 4-2 Big East) at No. 11 Creighton (10-4, 6-3), noon, Fox29 – Both teams are in need of a win to try to keep first-place Villanova in their sights. With leading scorer James Bouknight (20.3 points per game) recovering from elbow surgery, the Huskies have to count on others to score. The Bluejays have lost back-to-back four-point games and need to bounce back after going 4 of 23 on three-point tries against Providence. Point guard Marcus Zegarowski has returned to action following a hamstring injury.

Center Jeff Woodward, who broke career records for scoring, rebounding and blocked shots at Methacton High School, has made an impressive debut in a reserve role for Colgate. The 6-foot-11 freshman is averaging 6.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 16.0 minutes off the bench for the Red Raiders with a high game of 12 points last Sunday against Holy Cross.