ESPN’s Sean Farnham explains why Aden Holloway absence could hurt Alabama’s NCAA Tournament run

Alabama is heading into the NCAA Tournament with a major question mark around guard Aden Holloway following his arrest. ESPN’s Sean Farnham believes it could significantly impact the team’s ceiling.

Speaking on Get Up, Farnham broke down what the absence of Holloway means for Alabama’s postseason outlook. It is a huge hit to the Tide.

“Aden Holloway is averaging almost 17 points per game, shooting 43% from beyond the arc. You can’t replace those numbers. You just can’t,” Farnham said Tuesday. “What does that mean? The offense steps back just ever so slightly. Still going to be a very explosive offense, but it’s going to step back a little bit. What it also means is that a team like Alabama that has struggled at the defensive end of the floor, their margins have now gotten thinner.”

Holloway was arrested Monday morning on drug-related charges, according to reports, and has since been suspended by Alabama. Head coach Nate Oats confirmed the program is preparing to move forward without one of its top scorers.

“We’ve got standards in our program,” Oats said via Hey Coach. “We’ve got ways we hold our guys accountable and we try to keep everything in-house. Obviously, in some situations, you can’t and this is one of those. This situation was a little different when we found out what was going on this morning. I found out this morning. I guess it all went down this morning. 

“So, we had to suspend him, pending the investigation from the UA Office of Student Conduct. We’re certainly disappointed in his behavior.”

Despite the loss, Farnham still expects Alabama to handle its opening-round matchup. However, he emphasized that the absence of Holloway could loom much larger as the competition intensifies deeper into the bracket.

“They’re going to advance out of the first round of this tournament,” Farnham added. “But then that second round matchup could be a lot more difficult. … I think that it’s going to be really tough for Alabama to get all the way to Indianapolis.”

Alas, Holloway’s production will be difficult to replicate. The sophomore guard averaged 16.8 points per game this season while shooting over 43% from three-point range, serving as a key piece in Alabama’s high-powered offense.

His consistency down the stretch was particularly important, as he scored in double figures in nearly every game over the final two months of the season. Losing that level of scoring punch puts added pressure on the rest of the roster to step up in March.

While Alabama continues to support Holloway off the court, the focus now shifts to navigating the NCAA Tournament without him for now. And as Farnham noted, for a team already battling inconsistencies, the margin for error just got significantly smaller.

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.