Tide wins in gutty second half performance...

Green's tip at buzzer wins for Bama

Green's only field goal in 2nd half
was a winner...

JaMichael Green made exactly one field goal in the second half.  It came with 3/10 of a second left on the clock.  Tony Barbee is going to look at the video of the last few seconds of the game and remind his players that there are no moral victories, and it's always the little things that cause you to win or lose.  Tony Mitchell hurled himself down the lane hoping to make a basket or go to the line. Neither happened. Instead, Auburn failed to block out Green and the Bama big man took advantage of the mistake. The result?  Bama wins in a thriller 51-49.  It was thrilling but it was a horrible game.

It is really hard to say exactly what kind of basketball game we witnessed. If the sport had been golf the pairing would have agreed to tear up the score card.  What happens in Tuscaloosa stays in Tuscaloosa so to speak.  Win 19 came on guts and not glory. I quit counting turnovers at 40. The Tide was dead in the water with 9 minutes to go. Down by 12 when you've only scored 6 points in the second half is a lot to make up.

Auburn's gritty little team played Kamikazee to the Tide Fleet.  It almost worked.  But like Japan in WWII the Tigers ran out of people. I'm sure AU is going to say the officiating was one sided. It was in the sense is was because Bama lived off free throws the entire game.  It wasn't  in the sense that Auburn made a calculated decision to foul on every possession down low to shut down Green and Mitchell.

Is this man cool or what? Grant just kept
coaching and in the end it was enough.

Bama survives despite a horrible game...
You won't see it often, but Grant was handed his head on a platter by Barbee. At least on the offensive end. Bama looked stunned. They had very little movement and when they did reverse the ball on offense to get the ball down low it didn't work. This was one game where the inability to make three point baskets hurt. You probably just saw the game plan everyone will use against the Tide for the remainder of the season. And yet...

Bama's defense never quit and kept turning up the volume

If Bama played court jester on the offensive end they were a black hole on the defensive end. Auburn had one field goal in the last 11 minutes of the game. Just to put things into perspective Auburn had 18 field goals. 17 of those came in the first 30 minutes. Then they scored only 1 more. If I told you that the Tigers shot 50% from the field you probably wouldn't believe me. Well, the Tigers did.  I wonder what they shot the last 9:oo minutes?
Bama made 11 field goals. That's a football number. That is totally unacceptable to Coach Grant. You may never see a team make just 11 field goals and win the game in the rest of your life.

If you ever wonder if defense is what wins basketball games just catch the replay this weekend. It may have been the worst game played since Dr. Naismith put up the peach baskets but on occasion you have to win games like that. 19-8 sounds a lot better than 18-9 for some reason. Bama goes to Oxford to play the Ole Miss Rebels. Perhaps the Tide got a wake up call.  I hope the team enjoys the win tonight because tommorrow they are going to be as tired as you can be and not be my age.

In or out of the NCAA?
I think the Tide is going to make it. They are 11-2 in the SEC.  It appears that 12-4 might be the worst they will do. Road games to Oxford and Gainesville are looming. Georgia will need a win the worst way in Tuscaloosa.  How many people thought that the Tide would be a gaudy 11-2 at this point in the season? Raise you hands. Hey, you over in the corner with his hand raised I think your lying. 

I'd like at least three more wins this season to make me feel better. Bama played poorly on Wednesday night but they can pound their chests for winning. You don't get style points this season if you believe what the NCAA says.

Back to all the relieved faces over at TiderInsider