It’s no secret that Alabama basketball has had a rough couple of weeks. Since winning against a tremendous Kentucky Wildcats team in Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 5, the Crimson Tide has posted a record of 6-8, including a blowout home loss to Florida and two disappointing losses to Texas A&M. Despite this underwhelming stretch of games, Alabama is still projected to make the NCAA Tournament. This is why it is imperative that the fans, especially the students, now rally behind this team and head coach Avery Johnson.

Making the NCAA Tournament is an awesome achievement for any team in college basketball. Johnson led the Crimson Tide back to the big dance last season, a feat that had not been accomplished at the University since 2012, beating Virginia Tech and advancing to the round of 32 before losing to the eventual national champions, the Villanova Wildcats. This was the University’s first NCAA Tournament win in 12 years. But before making the NCAA Tournament, Alabama lost five consecutive games to end the regular season. The end of the 2017-2018 regular season for the Crimson Tide was disappointing, sure, but Alabama still found a way into the NCAA Tournament and won a game.

Much like last season, UA basketball has not had the best run of luck this February. However, this is not what is most concerning for me as a fan of Crimson Tide basketball. What concerns me the most is the current attitude of other fans, some being my fellow students, toward our basketball team.

As fans, we reserve the right to be openly critical about the teams we root for, but some of the faux outrage and overdramatic comments I have seen and heard from UA basketball fans and some UA students have been nothing short of repulsive. The criticism from fans and students online has rapidly shifted from being mildly disappointed in the team’s recent performance to viciously revoking support from the team.

Of course, it is frustrating as a fan and a student to see your school’s sports team not perform as well as you expect, but does that mean we should stop supporting them completely? Absolutely not. For us to quit on the team is for us to quit on our school.

UA basketball currently has a favorable rating according to multiple metrics used to decide which teams make the NCAA Tournament, and with a win this past Saturday against Vanderbilt and an away win at South Carolina, the Tide seems primed to make a convincing run to end the season. There are three games remaining on Alabama’s schedule before the end of the regular season, including two home games against LSU and Auburn on March 2 and March 5. It is absolutely crucial that we do our part to support them, especially in Coleman Coliseum.

The UA men’s basketball team has not made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 13 years, and despite the outcomes of a few recent games, Johnson currently has this UA team projected to achieve a tournament berth.

The past month for UA basketball has not been ideal, on this I think we all can agree, but the season is far from over. Now is not the time to pull our support. Now is the time to rally behind the team as they strive to achieve consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in over a decade.