TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's record says plenty about the season's challenges.
But so do the latest national rankings.
The Crimson Tide (11-16, 5-9 Southeastern Conference) enters tonight's visit to Mississippi (16-11, 7-7) already assured of its first losing regular-season mark since 1999-2000, Mark Gottfried's second season.
Most of the blame can go toward deficiencies in the major categories of rebounding, defense and scoring beyond star guard Trevor Releford.
Playing No. 1 Florida (twice), No. 2 Wichita State and No. 6 Duke doesn't help either, though the Tide dropped those four games by a respectable average of 7.5 points.
"Every one of those games we had opportunities," coach Anthony Grant said Tuesday. "That's how fragile it can be. In terms of your individual and team confidence, being able to win one or two of those games makes all the difference in the world. We knew we played a very challenging schedule.
"Sometimes you have to make your breaks. Unfortunately we weren't able to make some of those breaks against those teams."
Grant needs a strong finish and an SEC Tournament run to avoid his first losing mark in eight seasons as a head coach and first since he was a Florida assistant 16 years ago.
The Tide ranks 12th in the SEC in scoring offense, last in rebounds per game and is giving up nearly 10 more points per game than last season.
Grant sees a glimmer of hope in how his players have held up while losing eight of their past 11 games. The Tide is coming off one of its bigger victories of the season, beating Missouri 80-73 on Saturday in what Grant called a character win.