'25 in-state CB Timothy Merritt previews upcoming Alabama visit...

The Dead Period will officially come to an end on Sunday night, which means recruits can start hosting visitors. Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the staff have done a good job of securing visits from a ton of Top247 talents.

Several of these Alabama targets Bama247 has confirmed will be on campus throughout the next several weeks are recent re-offers/offers including in-state cornerback Timothy Merritt (Birmingham, AL). Assistant head coach/defensive line coach Freddie Roach delivered the offer last Monday.

Merritt told Bama247 it was “surprising” but Roach told him the staff sees him as “one of the top defensive backs in the country.”

Can Alabama still win the SEC? With one week left, here’s a look at the conference standings and final games.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama men’s basketball team’s game against No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday night was billed as a championship-type matchup.

College GameDay was in town (for the first time ever for basketball). The 14th-ranked Crimson Tide and Vols were tied atop the SEC, and the winner would gain the inside track to winning the league’s regular season title.

A thrilling game inside Coleman Coliseum ended with the Vols on top, 81-74, and while Alabama is not completely eliminated from SEC title contention, the path to a third conference crown in four years became much, much harder with one week left in the regular season.

“It’s hard,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said afterward. “We’re not in full control of whether we win it or not anymore. We were going into tonight, we had full control over whether we won the championship. Now, we need some help.

“We’ll see how mature our guys are because we talk to them all the time, control the things you can control. What we can control now is our effort on Tuesday, our effort on Saturday.”

Here’s a glance at the SEC men’s basketball standings entering the final week:

Tennessee, 13-3
Alabama, 12-4 (owns tiebreaker over South Carolina)
South Carolina, 12-4
Kentucky, 11-5 (owns tiebreaker over Auburn)
Auburn, 11-5
Florida, 10-6

There’s a lot still left to be decided heading into the final week of the regular season — both in terms of the regular season title and seeding for the SEC tournament.

The simplest result is the Vols winning it outright, as early as Wednesday if they beat South Carolina and Alabama loses to Florida on Tuesday.

There could also be a five-way split for the regular-season title if Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Auburn all finish 13-5 — and yes, that’s still possible: if the Vols lose out, both Alabama and South Carolina go 1-1, and both Auburn and Kentucky win out.

(Good luck to those in charge of seeding for the SEC tournament if that’s the case.)

“It’s out of our hands now,” Oats added on Saturday. “We’ve still got a shot at it, but we’re gonna need to get some help to earn a share of it at this point.”

Remaining Games: at South Carolina, vs. Kentucky

Hands down the hardest schedule remaining of any of the contenders, and that’s after already playing (and beating) Alabama and Auburn this past week. But a win over Gamecocks on Wednesday would clinch a share of the regular season title.

Alabama

Record: 20-9 overall, 12-4 in SEC

Remaining Games: at Florida, vs. Arkansas

The game against the Gators on Tuesday is huge— one, because Florida took Alabama to overtime at Coleman Coliseum two weeks ago, but two, because it’s a chance for the Tide to show they can beat a good team on the road. Of their four conference losses, three have come on the road, against Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky.

South Carolina

Record: 24-5 overall, 12-4 in SEC

Remaining Games: vs. Tennessee, at Mississippi State

It’s been a dream season for South Carolina, and it can get sweeter with a home win over the Vols on Wednesday. The Gamecocks already beat Tennessee back in January, so a win here would complete the season sweep, bolstering their odds of earning the No. 1 seed. But there’s also the possibility of a three-way tie if the Tide hold serve, too.

Kentucky

The Wildcats seem to have found a groove, winning five of their last six, which includes wins over both Alabama and Auburn. Vanderbilt shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but if things break right, that Saturday game at Tennessee could determine a lot with regards to the SEC standings and tournament seeding.

Auburn

Record: 22-7 overall, 11-5 in SEC

Remaining Games: at Missouri, vs. Georgia

No reason to believe the Tigers won’t get to 13-5 in league play. Winning a regular-season league title isn’t impossible, but it requires a lot of help — and even then, they’d likely have to share it. Auburn is likely most worried about SEC tournament seeding at this point.

Florida

Record: 20-9 overall, 10-6 in SEC

Remaining Games: vs. Alabama, at Vanderbilt

The Gators can’t win the regular-season league title, but they can throw a wrench into the Crimson Tide’s plans on Tuesday. Given that Alabama rallied from down 10 late to steal one from Florida in Tuscaloosa, the Gators will probably come out swinging in Gainesville.

“At this point, we’re playing for seeding,” Oats said. “If we get some help, great. If we don’t get any help, we didn’t deserve to win it. We needed to win this one to have full control over our destiny to whether we win the regular season or not.

“We could still get a 2-seed. We’re certainly looking to get a bye. Not to play till Friday is the easiest way to win the tournament championship, get the highest seed you can get.”

Record: 21-8 overall, 11-5 in SEC

Remaining Games: vs. Vanderbilt, at Tennessee